The Science of Magic
by CaptainRiddle
Summary: When Skulduggery and Valkyrie run into a spot of trouble with a magical Nazi, they turn to Rapture Soul for help; a sassy sorcerer with a penchant for snakes. Valkyrie instantly takes a liking to her, but soon discovers all is not what it seems. Who is she really? What is her relationship with Skulduggery? And can they overcome the darkness that threatens to destroy them all?
1. Baron Stattlich

******The Science of Magic: My very first Skulduggery Pleasant fanfiction, one that turned out to be novel-length, more or less XD Reviews would be very awesome and much appreciated. This fic is indeed complete, but I'll only post more if people actually like it and want me to.  
There is a hint of OC X Skulduggery throughout the fic, which I honestly didn't intend, but with her personality I see now that it was simply unavoidable. She is like the Irene to his Sherlock :D  
**

**DISCLAIMER: Skulduggery and Valkyrie, although I wish they belonged to me, unfortunately do not.  
**

**Chapter One**

**Baron Stattlich**

"So this guy we're after was an actual proper _Nazi_?"

"Yes, he was an _actual proper Nazi, _as you so eloquently put it."

Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant strode briskly down the dark alleyway, feet splashing against the rain-drenched floor. Ever since the Sanctuary had been destroyed the duo followed whatever leads they could find on Davina Marr, but, after hitting several dead ends, a little break seemed necessary. This break took on the form of a brand new case; one that involved hunting down a wanted war-criminal.

"And you said he was a war-criminal of some kind, right?" Valkyrie asked as she struggled to keep up with the skeleton detective.

"Yes, but funnily enough, he has never actually been involved in any of _our _wars." Skulduggery replied, picking up the pace.

Valkyrie cursed and tried to walk a little faster."What did he do, then?"

"Human and animal experimentation mainly. He taught some small circles of Nazis how to combine magic and science, which almost resulted in their victory of World War II."

Valkyrie whistled. "Wow, that's pretty bad."

"Indeed."

They rounded a corner and were met by the glaring headlights of a truck.

"Well that's just cheating." Skulduggery mumbled, grabbing Valkyrie by the arm and pulling her out of the way just as the truck skidded past them. It went crashing straight into the wall behind the spot they had been standing in only moments ago.

"Could this guy get any more conspicuous?" Valkyrie grumbled, one eyebrow arched as she righted herself.

"If he tried, I'm sure he could."

"What's his name anyway? Something German I take it?"

"Your powers of deduction never cease to amaze me. But yes, it's Baron-"

"Baron Stattlich, at your service." A smooth voice echoed around the alley, completing Skulduggery's sentence. A man hopped down from the truck and, standing several metres away from the duo, swept his arm aside and gave a bow. Even though the front of the truck was completely crushed and mangled, there didn't appear to be a scratch on him.

"Great. _Another_ Baron." Valkyrie groaned.

"Pardon me for zat little show just now." He purred in an accent that was quite clearly German, looking up at Valkyrie and Skulduggery. "But I never could resist a theatrical entrance."

"I'd noticed." Skulduggery commented mildly, curling the fingers on his left hand, just in case a quickly conjured fireball was needed.

Valkyrie could only describe the way Baron Stattlich looked as very Nazi-like. He wore the typical black militaristic uniform of an SS officer, complete with sword and red armband, minus the hat. Instead of the Swastika that one would associate with Nazis, there was instead a strange symbol Valkyrie didn't recognize; an elaborately twisting snake that appeared to be devouring its own tail. In addition to the uniform, he wore a long black trench coat that reached his ankles, and there was some kind of gas-mask covering the lower half of his face. His skin was pale and his hair short and dark, but the strangest aspect of his appearance were the eyes. They were startling silver, with a pearlescence that matched the moon overhead.

"Have you come to arrest me, detective?" Stattlich asked, a smile in his eyes as he straightened up from the bow.

"Only if you don't resist." Skulduggery replied.

"Oh? And what happens if I resist?"

"We beat you up and _then _arrest you."

Stattlich laughed. "Yes, yes, of course! You and your little sidekick here are certainly famous for zat."

Valkyrie took a few strides towards him, a flame sparking in her curled fist."I am _not_ a sidekick."

"Ah. Sorry." Stattlich apologized in a somewhat mocking tone, lifting both hands up in a kind of surrender. "_Partner _of course."

"Can I punch him now?" Valkyrie asked, barely sparing Skulduggery a glance.

"Yes, I don't think one little punch will hurt. Well, it won't hurt _us._" He hummed cheerfully.

As Valkyrie let the flame in her fist die out, and as she pulled that fist back to strike Stattlich, the Baron only smiled behind his mask. He shifted one of his hovering hands so both Valkyrie and Skulduggery could see the small remote nestled in his fingers.

"Did you really think zat I was alone?" He asked, pressing two buttons in quick succession.

"I try to remain optimistic." Skulduggery answered, pulling his revolver from its holster.

Another laugh from Stattlich. "Indeed. But you would have to be insane to remain so optimistic after meeting my little friend." He pushed one last button and an electrical crackling sound could be heard coming from within the truck behind him. There was an ear splitting yelp, and then an enraged howling that sounded as if it belonged to something rather large.

"Well, that doesn't seem too good." Skulduggery commented, his grip on the gun handle tightening slightly.

"Right you are, detective." Stattlich agreed, and before Skulduggery could do so much as move a pinky finger, the Baron burst into a cloud of black smoke and then dissipated.

"That guy is a jerk." Valkyrie grumbled, turning her attention from the spot where Stattlich had just been standing to the truck, which was now rocking on its axles as the rather large something tried to get out.

"'Jerk' is rather mild compared to what I was thinking, but yes. Yes he is." Skulduggery circled around to the rear of the truck. Valkyrie followed close behind him, wondering which weapon in her magical arsenal would be most effective against whatever was inside. The Necromancer ring felt particularly icy on her finger as she came to a halt next to Skulduggery, as if death were close by.

"Do you have any idea what could be in there?" She whispered, getting herself into a battle-ready stance as the truck rocked more violently.

"Not a clue. Perhaps it's just a crate full of kittens or something."

"You know, I think Stattlich was right about one thing."

"Oh?"

"You're crazy for being so optimistic."

"Why thank you. I try."

The side of the truck burst outwards, and the biggest wolf Valkyrie had ever seen went stumbling into the alley. But it wasn't just a wolf. There was something _wrong _with it. Its ears were long like a rabbit, but pointed and veined like a Doberman. Its teeth were jagged and overlapping, a violently blue tongue lolling out of a toxic green mouth. Eyes red as blood glowed maliciously in their sockets, and a mass of black fur rippled with every movement of its over-large body.

Some sort of device flashed silently from around its neck, much like a giant shock-collar, and Valkyrie guessed that was the reason behind its pained yelping.

"What," she started, sparking a flame instinctively and letting it grow in her palm. "The hell is that?"

"Ah. Well. _That _is what I believe to be called a Demon-Hound." Skulduggery answered, backing up. "And I've never actually seen one before, but from what I've heard they aren't exactly good news. Really, really bad breath too."

Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery and noticed that he was backing up more and more quickly.

"I can see why people would think that." She said slowly, her voice a little shaky. "Run?"

"Run."

And they started running, Skulduggery firing shots off at the colossal beast once Valkyrie was beside him, Valkyrie hurling fireballs in its general direction as best she could. One or two bullets hit home and a fireball collided with it head-on, but this only seemed to further enrage the Demon-Hound. It bounded clumsily after them, heavy paws making the ground shake slightly with each ginormous step that it took. This creature was unlike any other magical creature Valkyrie had ever faced. She had only glanced at its eyes briefly before, but that one little glance had filled her with sheer terror. In the split second that her had eyes met its own, she knew she was going to die. But then the eye contact had been broken and the feeling of complete and utter hopelessness faded from her mind. It was a clever way of immobilizing prey, Valkyrie had to admit, but she would think on it further once they were a safe distance away from those jagged teeth.

Valkyrie and Skulduggery ran flat out for what seemed like miles, zigzagging through dozens of deserted streets and alleyways, the Demon-Hound close behind every step of the way.

Just when Valkyrie thought her legs would turns to jelly and the Hound would get her, there was a complete and sudden silence. Skulduggery had already stopped and turned to look, and a couple of seconds later she did the same. The beast was gone. Simply vanished.

"Well." Skulduggery hummed, putting his revolver away. "That went better than expected."


	2. Seeking Help

"'Stattlich'. What does that mean, then?" Valkyrie asked, as she and Skulduggery headed down a lonely dirt track in the Bentley.

"I believe it is an adjective of the German word for 'noble'. It could also mean handsome, stately, imposing, impressive or magnificent. So really, Stattlich is more than a little impressed with himself."

"Remind you of anyone?" Valkyrie asked, smirking.

"I have no idea what you mean." Skulduggery replied innocently.

They continued down the dirt track for a little while longer and then turned off into some backwoods, the trees tall and ominous looking.

"So this friend of yours..." Valkyrie began, glancing around at the looming trees. "Remind me why we're going to see her again?"

Skulduggery turned his head towards her a fraction. "She's an expert on magical creatures and may be able to help us track down the Demon-Hound-"

"-which could lead us to Baron Stattlich." Valkyrie finished.

"Right. You're getting pretty good at this whole detective thing."

"I know."

Skulduggery harrumphed good-naturedly. "I suppose it's only to be expected. What with me as such an amazing teacher and all."

"What's her name?"

"Sorry?"

"Your friend. What's her name?"

"Hmm..."

Valkyrie had a feeling that, if he actually had a face, Skulduggery would be frowning right about now. "What is it?"

"Well, when I saw her last, she still hadn't bothered to take a name. I knew her back then only as Sarah, which is her given name. Sort of."

"Sort of?" Valkyrie asked, finding herself frowning now.

"Yes. Sort of."

"Well, uh, OK then. But what do you mean 'hadn't bothered'?"

Skulduggery shrugged. "Laziness, I suppose. Or maybe she just couldn't quite find the right name."

Valkyrie arched an eyebrow. "_Couldn't _find the right name? Do you mean that she has a taken name _now_?"

"From what I've heard, yes. And it really is a very immature name to take. But then again, in some ways, she's even more immature than you."

"I have no idea what you mean." Valkyrie replied innocently, echoing Skulduggery's own words.

"Uh-huh."

"So what _is _her taken name?"

"Rapture Soul."

"What's wrong with that? I think it sounds rather beautiful."

"Hmm.." Skulduggery mused again. "When formal letters arrive for you at home, how are they usually addressed?"

"Why is that relevant?"

"Just trust me."  
Arching an eyebrow, Valkyrie turned to look at him. "Um... S. Edgely, I guess."

Skulduggery pulled up the car in front of a gate, beyond which was another dirt track, this one secluded by shorter, close-knit trees."We're going to have to walk from here." He stated, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. Valkyrie scrambled to get out herself, and once she was standing outside, hurried after Skulduggery. "So the letter thing. What does that have to do with Rapture's name?"

"Just imagine how _her _letters are addressed."

Valkyrie thought about it for a second and Skulduggery stopped to look at her, as if making a point.

"Oh."

Another few seconds passed, and he turned back and continued towards the gate.

"_Oh. _I get it." Valkyrie declared, grinning widely and fighting back a snigger.

"Right. You're grinning, aren't you?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Valkyrie asked, quickly dropping the grin as Skulduggery turned his head to look back at her.

"Gut feeling."

"You don't have a gut."

"I know."

–

As they walked, Valkyrie piped up; "So, to take such an _obviously immature _name, Rapture must be quite young, right?"

"No, actually. She's the oldest sorcerer that I know."

"Really?" Valkyrie spluttered, taken by surprise. Somehow, she just couldn't picture an old woman doing something so silly.

"Yes really."

"But why would an old woman take a name like that?"  
Skulduggery shrugged. "To give the postman a good laugh? I don't know."

Valkyrie snorted.

Soon the trees became closer and closer together, and the track narrower. The Necromancer ring on Valkyrie's finger seemed to get a little colder, and that reminded her of the Demon-Hound, and how its proximity had made the ring react. "Oh yeah. I forgot to ask." She started, keeping pace with Skulduggery.

"What is it?"

"Earlier with the Demon-Hound, my ring practically froze on my finger when it came near me."

"Well, I'm sure Rapture will tell us what that means soon enough."

"Right." Valkyrie nodded. "Speaking of Rapture, why does the track leading to her house feel so much like death?"

"Ah." Skulduggery seemed to sigh. "I guess you'll find that out when you meet her."

"Hm, well, I'm practically _brimming _with confidence now."

–

Rapture's house had three stories and towered over a small front garden, casting a long shadow across the lawn. Valkyrie stood on the edge of that shadow and looked up, taking in the creaking wood of the house, the chipped paint and cracked windows.

"Charming spot." She commented.

"Well, cheerful and flowery aren't exactly words that appear in Rapture's dictionary." And without another word, Skulduggery swept towards the old house, navigating his way through a wide variety of coiling serpents that wound up and down the path.

"Snakes? She has _snakes?_" Valkyrie muttered to herself, and then dashed through the carpet of scaly bodies, trying very hard not to step on any of the ends that hissed.

She made it to the porch without incident, and found that Skulduggery was already knocking at the large black door with a heavy brass knocker in the shape of a snake.

"A snake. Of course..." Valkyrie continued to mutter.

"What was that?" Skulduggery asked, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"Oh, nothing. Only the entire zoo collection of snakes Rapture has."

"Mm, yes. Did I mention that Rapture likes snakes?"

"Wow. You don't say?"

"Yes, I already did. Weren't you listening?"

Valkyrie smiled and punched him playfully on the shoulder, and then returned her attention to the door. "It doesn't seem like anybody's home." She commented, nodding her head towards the brass knocker. No sooner had she spoke, the door swung slowly inwards on its rusty hinges, creaking loudly.

"I guess the door heard you." Skulduggery said, stepping into the hall.

Valkyrie hesitated for a split-second. The ring was cold on her finger. People had died in this house.

She shook her head and stepped inside, the door slamming shut behind her. Normally that would have made her jump, even if just a little, but this time she was too distracted by the interior of the house. Unlike the outside, the inside was beautifully furnished; the hall was carpeted with an emerald green carpet, the stairs were carved out of some sort of solid black wood, and the banister had intricately detailed metal serpents coiling around it. The walls were wood-panelled, and two small black chandeliers hung from the ceiling, complete with gently flickering candles. A mirror with a heavily gilded frame lay directly opposite Valkyrie, and as she looked at the reflective glass, could have sworn she saw two shadowy, cloudy-eyed figures flitting around behind her. Turning to look, she saw nothing but the empty hall and closed door. The smell of incense clouded the air, and she could hear a healthy fire crackling away in the next room. "Huh." She breathed. "This isn't quite what I was expecting."

"Which is precisely why you should never judge a book by its cover."

"What, have you moved on to being a philosopher now or something?"

Skulduggery made a sound that could well have been a laugh, and started making his way down the hall. Paintings of fantastical beasts lined the walls and, more often than not, a snake or two rested on their frames. "All of these snakes, too. Why does she need so many?" Valkyrie asked as she looked around, not exactly afraid of their glistening coils, but not willing to reach out and touch them either.

"She much prefers their company to that of most human beings."

"So...she's like the cold-blooded, scaly version of a crazy old cat-lady?" Valkyrie arched an eyebrow, trying to picture what this Rapture woman could possibly look like. Short and wrinkly, with wild grey hair and crazy eyes was the image that came to mind.

"I guess you'll find that out too, when you meet her." Skulduggery answered, disappearing into the lounge.

"I really wish you'd stop doing that." Valkyrie grumbled, following him inside.

"Doing what?"

"Being all, I don't know, _mysterious _like that. Withholding valuable information. Or something."

"I can't help it if I'm generally mysterious and interesting. Some of us are just born that way, you know."

Valkyrie shook her head and smiled, looking around at the lounge. It was decked out similarly to the hall, but with added luxuries. A flat screen television spanned one entire wall, and there were a multitude of games consoles in a cabinet that was pushed up against a corner. A cushy green couch lined the wall opposite the television, and in between was a coffee table made of the same black wood as the stairs. An old fashioned fireplace lay at the far end of the room, freshly cut logs sitting in front of a crackling fire. The incense that Valkyrie had smelt earlier was perched on the coffee table in the form of a small cone. It smoked away lazily. "Huh, I guess she is home after all."

"Once again, your powers of deduction continue to utterly boggle my mind."

Ignoring Skulduggery, Valkyrie instead turned her attention to a particularly large snake that had just decided to slither right across her feet. She froze and eyed it warily. It looked like a python, which meant it wasn't likely to poison her. Of course, there were still the bone-crushing, tree trunk sized coils to worry about.

As soon as the tip of the python's scaly tail disappeared around a corner, Valkyrie relaxed a little and turned back to Skulduggery. "A giant T.V and an Xbox seem kind of...I don't know, out of place in a house like this."

"Well, Rapture always did like an odd combination of the modern and the old."

"But I thought she was the oldest sorcerer you knew? That's like trying to imagine Kenspeckle playing on Call of Duty."

"What's Call of Duty?"

"Never mind."


	3. Rapture

They searched the rest of the ground floor but Rapture was nowhere to be found, so they moved onto the next one. The first thing Valkyrie noticed as she climbed the stairs higher and higher, was this floor had no walls dividing the space into separate rooms, much like China's library.

One half of the room was completely stuffed full of books, towering bookcases lining the walls and stacks of precariously balanced volumes and tomes on the floor. Charts, maps and drawings littered a desk in front of one bookcase, a multitude of quills, pens, pencils and ink bottles clumped together in the corners. An easel stood propped up next to the desk, and a half finished painting of a strange looking feathered serpent filled the canvas. Valkyrie wasn't surprised to see several more snakes slithering along the shelves and desk.

The other half of the room was completely different. Gun and sword racks were pushed up against or fixed onto the wall. Weapons ranging from automatics and grenades, to crossbows and swords filled every possible nook and cranny. There were many strange and unfamiliar weapons dotted around, too; a knarled wooden staff with some sort of skull fixed to the top, a handful of black stones with swirling golden symbols, a fist-sized orb that pulsated gently on top of a cushioned pedestal, a set of daggers with blades that seemed to move and shift as if alive.

Valkyrie took all of this in with wide eyes. These things, the books and then the weapons, didn't feel as though they should be in the same room. But here they were, two completely different personalities pushed together.

"These weapons..." Valkyrie started, picking up and examining an ornate looking flintlock pistol that had an identical twin on the rack. "Does she collect them as a hobby or something?"

"That too, I suppose."

"What do you mean by _too_?"

"If she's anything like she used to be, my guess is Rapture finds a use for each and every one of these weapons."

Again Valkyrie imagined the short wrinkly woman she had come to think of as Rapture, this time lobbing grenades and shooting at people with an AK-47 as she cackled maniacally. It was a rather comical thought.

"What? What is it?" Skulduggery asked as he caught her smirking.

"Oh, nothing." Valkyrie shrugged, although a hint of the smirk remained. "Should we move on?" She put the pistol back on the gun rack and pointed to the stairs that continued up to the second and final floor. "Because Rapture is clearly not here."

"Again, yo-"

"No more jokes about my deductive skills, either."

"How do you know that's what I was going to say?"

Valkyrie gave him a pointed look, one eyebrow raised.

"...Alright. So I was." Skulduggery stepped aside to let her past. "After you, Sherlock."

Grinning, Valkyrie started ascending the stairs, wondering what sort of interesting things awaited them on the last floor. More snakes, probably.

–

The second floor was like a maze. Dozens of rooms were crammed around numerous corridors, some containing shelf after shelf of strange looking potions, others host to a network of vivarium's, holding even more snakes than the last two floors combined. Other doors were locked, and some only led to more doors. There was a room holding vibrant and exotic plants, and another that contained a huge tank full of murky water. Another had a grand piano sitting in the corner, dusty sheets of music scattered on the stool before it. Violins, cellos, guitars, saxophones and a wide variety of other instruments hung from the walls. They even came across a room that was filled with nothing but clothes, ranging from casual looking shirts and trousers, all the way to dusty old robes and Victorian dresses.

As she and Skulduggery entered yet another room, this one stuffed full of flickering candles, a strange symbol scrawled on the floor in what looked suspiciously like blood, Valkyrie wondered how all of these rooms even _fit _into the house. Some form of magic, no doubt.

"You said it had been a long time since you saw Rapture last..." She began, eyeing the symbol curiously.

"Yes. It must be over twenty years now." Skulduggery confirmed with a nod of the head.

"So who's to say that, in the time since you saw her last, she hasn't switched sides? I mean, look at some of the things she keeps hanging around." Valkyrie gestured to the symbol, and then to a small table in the corner, upon which sat a human skull and a jar full of pickled eyeballs.

"Well, she always did have an acquired sense of taste-"

"_Skulduggery._"

"-and she isn't really on our side anyway. Not any more."

"Wait..._what?"_

"Can you let me finish?"

"I thought you _were _finished."

"That's because you're impatient."

Valkyrie scowled.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Rapture. She isn't on our side because she isn't on _anyone's _side. She's the sort of person to help out someone who asks, no matter who they are."

"She'll help anyone out, just like that?"

"Provided the task interests her, and her client isn't too irritating, yes. Just think of Rapture as a mercenary of sorts."

"I can't quite tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Valkyrie frowned.

"Why not both?" Skulduggery chirped happily, walking back out into the hall and carrying on towards another room. Still frowning, Valkyrie took one last look at the candle-lit room, and then made her way after Skulduggery, following him over to a door at the end of that particular corridor.

All of the other doors up to now were plane and boring compared to this one; it was the same colour green as the carpet in the hall downstairs, and metal snakes similar to the ones winding up the banister lined its frame. A round porthole was fixed near the top of the door, just level with Skulduggery's head. The window was blacked out.

"I think this might be the door we're looking for." Skulduggery declared.

"I think you might be right."

Just as Skulduggery went to touch the handle, the door swung inwards by itself. Doors in Rapture's house seemed to have a habit of doing that. Valkyrie held her breath as Skulduggery took a few seconds to read the air inside the room, and gave him a questioning look when he turned his head to face her. "What?" She whispered.

"Well, I don't sense anything, but Rapture was always pretty sneaky like that."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Like a magical ninja."

"A _magical_ _ninja?_"

"You asked." Skulduggery shrugged, and then paused. "Actually, there's a funny story about that..."

"Perhaps another time." Valkyrie said quickly, trying to see if she could sense anything in the room herself, but Skulduggery was right. A few smaller shapes distorted the air, most likely more snakes, but certainly nothing large enough to be human.

"Do you hear that?" Skulduggery asked, tearing Valkyrie away from her thoughts.

She stopped to listen. It sounded like running water. "A shower?" She whispered, arching an eyebrow. Skulduggery stuck his head inside the door, and Valkyrie did the same. There was a large four-poster bed at the far end, a solid oak wardrobe standing next to it. The carpet was thick and plush, half a dozen snakes nestled in the strands. Heavy velvet curtains were drawn closed across floor-to-ceiling windows, blocking the sunlight out, and several candles lay scattered around the room, casting dancing shadows along the walls. A door led off into another room, and that was where the running water seemed to originate from.

"Well." Skulduggery started, actually stepping across the threshold. "This is only a wild stab in the dark here, but I think this _might _just be Rapture's bedroom."

"What on earth gave you that idea?" Valkyrie joked, walking in after him.

"I think the bed gave it away."

Skulduggery stepped further into the room, looking about him, at the books and strange objects dotted around. "Rapture, are you here? I just want to talk. I'm not here to punch you in the face, I swear." He moved over to the bathroom door and knocked loudly on the door frame. No answer.

"Something tells me she's avoiding us." Skulduggery mused.

"Or maybe she's just having a really good shower."Valkyrie was standing by the one desk in the room, peering at a wad of open letters. The paper was old, the ink worn, and a bright red snake covered most of the words, but she could just about make out the name of the sender: _Skulduggery._

Valkyrie arched an eyebrow and, wondering what it could mean, turned to face him.

She had just opened her mouth to ask, when little droplets of water started to fall from the ceiling, pattering quietly against the material of Skulduggery's hat. He turned to look at her, head tilted to one side. After a few silently agreed seconds, they both looked up towards the considerably high ceiling.

If Valkyrie hadn't seen Tanith do it a dozen times already, she might have been a little startled to see the woman that was standing on the ceiling. What did surprise her, however, was the woman's youth, not to mention the towel on her head and lack of clothes on her body.

From what she could see, the only things that made the woman decent were a pair of lace briefs and a bra to match. "Well." She started with a mock-huff, emerald eyes glistening. "I _would _apologise for standing here in my underwear, but as I recall it was _you_, Skulduggery, who entered _my_ house without permission." Her voice was low and raspy, but not unpleasantly so.

"Your front door let us in." Skulduggery pointed out, taking a step back to avoid getting any water in his eye sockets.

Rapture dropped down from the ceiling, twisting in mid-air and landing on the carpet with a dull 'thud' in front of him. "Ah yes, of course. I'm convinced that door has it in for me."

"Are you trying to say you aren't happy to see me?"

"Well, I _was _having a really good shower."

"Then I apologise for interrupting your really good shower, but could we move on now?"

Rapture ignored Skulduggery's question, and instead took the towel off her head and turned to face Valkyrie.

Now that she was closer, Valkyrie could really appreciate just how pale Rapture was. So pale she was almost white. Excluding vampires, the closest anyone was likely to get without being a corpse.

She was of a similar height to Skulduggery,with shapely hips and a thin waist perched on top of long legs. She had a pretty face that was thin and pointed, and Valkyrie thought she barely looked past twenty. Two long bangs hung down either side of her face, but the rest of her hair was short and black and stuck up all over the place.

"You must be the famous Valkyrie Cain." Rapture smiled. "I've heard all about you."

She extended a hand to Valkyrie and, after a brief pause, Valkyrie shook it.

"Rapture Soul, at your service~."


	4. A New Detective in Town

_**Ireland, 1901**_

_**The Sanctuary**_

_Skulduggery Pleasant followed after the Administrator, who lead him through the Sanctuary and into an oval room. "The Grand Mage will be with you shortly." He stated and, with a little bow, turned and exited the room. Skulduggery sat down and crossed his legs, expecting a long wait; the Grand Mage was a busy man, after all. But after no more than five minutes, Eachan Meritorious strode through the double doors and made his way over to where Skulduggery sat. If he had eyebrows, Skulduggery may well have raised one. The prompt arrival of Meritorious, plus the stern expression on his face meant that something serious was going on._

"_Detective Pleasant." He greeted._

"_Grand Mage." Skulduggery answered respectfully with a nod of the head. "You wished to see me?"_

_A frown furrowed the Grand Mage's brow, and a few seconds passed before he answered._

"_...Indeed, yes. I require your assistance with something important."_

_Skulduggery sat forward a little to show that he was listening, and Meritorious continued._

"_Tell me, Skulduggery...what do you know of the vampire named Sarah?"_

"_You mean the virtually invulnerable Mother of all vampires who has killed countless thousands, perhaps millions indiscriminately during her long life, and who probably has enough power to reduce the planet to a smouldering ball of ash? The vampire who disappeared without a trace a hundred years ago and hasn't been heard of since? Absolutely nothing." Skulduggery answered._

"_Well, she turned up again last week." Meritorious continued, far too used to Skulduggery's humour to pay it any attention. _

_Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Let me guess; you want me to beat her up and stop her from going on another murderous rampage."_

"_Almost, but not quite." _

"_But I still get to beat her up, right?" _

_Meritorious clasped his hands behind his back and sighed deeply. "Sarah showed up again last week," he pressed on. "But not as we all remember her."_

"_Did she get a new haircut?"_

"_No, Skulduggery. A new _body_." _

"_That.. wasn't quite what I was expecting."_

"_Indeed." _

_The Grand Mage took a seat and turned to face Skulduggery. "While we do not know how it happened exactly, it is clear that Sarah's soul was separated from her body and now inhabits another. A _human _body."_

"_Perhaps she just fancied a change of clothes."_

_Meritorious ignored this comment like it had never been made. "At first, Sarah's reappearance seemed like a complete disaster. But now there is a chance she can be controlled." _

_Before Skulduggery could ask a single one of the dozen or so questions that were all queueing up in his mind, the Grand Mage quickly continued. "There are certain aspects of this new Sarah that are identical to the old, but for the most part she is a completely different person. She has absolutely no recollection of her past life, and believes herself to be a five hundred year old _human _sorcerer_. _Albeit an extremely gifted one_. _A belief that is strongly backed by just the mere surface of acquired knowledge and wisdom of over five millennia."_

"_And you think that if we can maintain this illusion, the new Sarah need never know of her past exploits as a vampire." Skulduggery finished._

"_Exactly."_

_Skulduggery stared at his lap, deep in thought. "Her body." He said suddenly, after a few moments._

"_I'm sorry?"_

"_Her original body. What happened to it? Because if she could pass from her own body to another, whether it was deliberate or accidental, there is always the chance that it can be reversed."_

"_Ah. Yes. Unfortunately it could not be recovered. We have absolutely no idea where it is, or if it even still exists."_

_Skulduggery nodded, but didn't answer. A few more moments passed, and then..._

"_So, back to the reason why you wished to see me." He turned to look at the Grand Mage. "I take it you want me to babysit?" _

"_You could say that, yes. She's your new partner."_

_Skulduggery stared for a moment."...You gave her a job as a detective?"_

"_She certainly has the interest, not to mention the brains. In fact, I think she's rather over-qualified. She could prove to be quite useful. Turning her down would have been the wrong move to make."_

"_I suppose treating her any differently, or even ignoring her completely would arouse suspicion..."Skulduggery agreed reluctantly, grumbling. _

"_Quite. And only a handful of people know of her true identity, including the other Council members, and I wish to keep it that way. We don't want any unnecessary panic."_

"_Of course." Skulduggery agreed, still sulking. "My lips are sealed... Or perhaps they would be, if I had any."_

–

_The next morning, Skulduggery made his way to the address Meritorious had supplied him with. _

_As a big fan of auto-mobiles, he drove an Oldsmobile Curved Dash with a gleaming black body and red-rimmed, spoked wheels. The people in the street parted to let him through and every few minutes or so, Skulduggery would check that his hat was pushed down as far as possible, and his scarf was wrapped tightly around his jaw. A pair of motoring goggles over the eye sockets helped obscure his skeletal features from prying mortal eyes. _

_Eventually he arrived at the house Sarah was currently staying in; it was a run down, uninviting looking building squashed between other, similar buildings, with cracked brickwork and more than one broken window. Nothing unusual there. Many sorcerers lived in buildings and neighbourhoods with a dark and unfriendly outward appearance to keep mortals away. It was simple, yet effective._

_After parking the Oldsmobile, Skulduggery hopped down onto the pavement and strolled casually over to the front door. With no knocker to knock with, he rapped his knuckles smartly against a glass pane and waited. A whole minute passed before there was any movement from inside and a dark silhouette moved down the hall, stopping before peering out of the warped glass. A few more seconds and the door was wrenched open, revealing a tall, pretty woman with a vibrantly coloured snake draped around her shoulders. _

"_Sarah, I presume?" Skulduggery asked, taking off his motoring goggles and shoving them into a pocket. "My name is Skulduggery Pleasant. I'm your new-"_

"_-partner. I know. Nice to meet you, skeleton man~." Sarah purred, holding out a hand to shake._

_Skulduggery shook her hand and the snake around her shoulders lifted up its head to nudge his bony wrist lightly with a thin snout. _

"_Hm, Merlin seems to like you."_

"_Then Merlin is an intelligent snake."_

_Sarah chuckled and retracted her hand. "Would you like to come in?" _

"_Yes, thank you."_

_Sarah stepped aside to let him past and Skulduggery walked into the hall, noting the other snakes that seemed to have all but taken over the house. "You really like snakes, don't you?" He stated more than asked._

"_Yes. Yes I do. Amazing detective work." Sarah replied with ample sarcasm, closing the front door._

_Skulduggery considered her for a long moment, standing statue still. Eventually he spoke._

"_...Are you related to a hedgehog? It's just, your hair is a little distracting." He gestured to her head and the short, spiked hair that rested there, as if someone had sent an electrical charge through her body._

"_Not a hedgehog, no. But my mother was a porcupine. It didn't work out between her and my father because of her prickly personality." Sarah replied, studying Skulduggery in turn, her facial expression quite serious. "And you..."She tilted her head curiously. "You remind me of Charon, the man who ferries souls across the river Styx. Are you perhaps related?"_

"_Ah. Yes. He was my uncle."_

"_I can see the family resemblance." Sarah added, nodding. _

_Skulduggery put his hands in his pockets. "Oh, this is going to be fun. I just _know _it."_


	5. Down to Business

Valkyrie found she couldn't help but stare at Rapture, standing there, large as life. In her underwear. She wondered where all the confidence came from. Valkyrie certainly didn't think that _she _would be able to stand in front of a complete and total stranger in her _pants. _How embarrassing.

And in front of Skulduggery, too. She pulled a face and Rapture, who had been watching her, spoke. "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"

Snapped from her thoughts, Valkyrie shook her head. "No, not at all. I was just admiring your lovely matching underwear. You'll have to show me where you shop some time."

Rapture smiled, and there was a twinkle in her eyes that suggested she knew what was really going on inside Valkyrie's head. "It's a date."

"Right." Skulduggery interrupted, stepping between them. "Girlie talk over, can we get down to business now?"

There was clear amusement on Rapture's face as her smile widened. "Most people have you pegged as patience incarnate, when in all actuality you are probably the most impatient person that I have ever met." Skulduggery scowled, and Valkyrie had to fight the urge to laugh.

"But yes," Rapture continued. "Down to business. What can I do for my dear old friend?"

She walked as she spoke, over to one corner of the room and behind a dressing screen that was decorated with oriental dragons. Skulduggery wasted no time in explaining the situation."We are currently trying to track down a man named Baron Stattlich."

"Ah, yes. I've heard of him. I remember disapproving of his animal experimentation quite distinctly."

"The only lead we have," Skulduggery continued, "is a Demon-Hound under the Baron's control. It chased us around back alleys for at least a mile this morning, and then simply vanished. We were hoping you could tell us more about the species, and perhaps help track it down."

Rapture hummed thoughtfully, and clothes appeared over the top of the dressing screen as she sorted through them. "What I'm about to say doesn't apply to you, Skulduggery, because you don't have any eyes."

Skulduggery nodded once and Rapture continued, this time addressing Valkyrie.

"As you may well have noticed during your encounter with the Hound, Valkyrie, it immobilizes prey by instilling sheer terror and utter hopelessness with a single look. By the time eye contact is broken, it is usually too late. You were very lucky to have escaped with your life."

Valkyrie nodded, having absolutely no trouble in believing that.

"Yeah. It was the worst feeling I've ever felt." She muttered absently, the very thought making her shudder.

"Also, I noticed the ring on your finger. I take it that ring is not just for show?" Rapture asked, several more garments appearing over the screen.

Valkyrie twisted the Necromancer ring round her finger, noting how cold it still felt. Usually she had to be in the same room as a dead body to even get this reaction.

"Yeah. I'm learning Necromancy, among other things. I figured I could use all the help I could get."

"A wise decision, at least until your magic settles." Rapture agreed, peeking her head out from behind the screen. "So tell me... how did the ring feel when you faced the Demon-hound?"

Valkyrie looked up at her. "It was practically an icicle."

Rapture nodded. "Now, that is because a Demon-Hound is much like a Necromancer tool. It drinks in death, and that death becomes its strength. As you can probably guess by its size, the power a Demon-Hound can gather is immense. And that is why your ring reacted the way it did."

Skulduggery, who had been listening quietly up until now, dipped his head.

"After hearing all that, it makes me wonder how the Baron even managed to bring it under control."

Rapture withdrew her head and thought for a moment. "...Was there perhaps some sort of electrical device attached to it?"

"It had a collar-thing around its neck." Valkyrie answered. "How did you know that?"

"Ah. Electricity. A Demon-Hound's most crippling weakness. You could set fire to it, stab it, fill it with bullets, blow it up, and you would only succeed in pissing it off. But send a current of electricity through it, and you've got yourself something even less threatening than a puppy."

Valkyrie arched an eyebrow. "Wow. That's one big weakness."

"Indeed." Skulduggery agreed. "And a rather valuable piece of information."

Rapture walked out from behind the screen, fully dressed, and smiled."Glad I could help."

Skulduggery stared at her for a moment; at the short shorts that covered barely any more flesh than her underpants, and the cropped shirt that barely reached the bottom of her sternum

"Are your quite sure there was any point in getting dressed at all?" He asked sarcastically.

Rapture strolled over casually and draped her arms around Skulduggery's shoulders.

"Would you prefer it if I were wearing nothing at all~?" She purred, winking.

Valkyrie covered her mouth with a hand to hide the grin that had formed there, not quite knowing whether to be amused or a little grossed out. She settled for a mixture of both."Oh, my God."

Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Rapture, please detach yourself."

–

Eventually, Rapture agreed to accompany Skulduggery and Valkyrie to the alleyway where they had encountered Stattlich. As the trio made their way through the maze-like second floor of the house, Valkyrie fell into step alongside Rapture. "So, all of these rooms..." She began, and Rapture glanced at her.

"I have a lot of spare time on my hands, so more than one hobby is necessary." She shrugged, smiling. Valkyrie nodded slowly and Rapture laughed, causing her to look up. "You perhaps saw something that made you feel uneasy?"

"Well, it's a few things, actually. Not just the rooms." Valkyrie frowned.

Rapture nodded in understanding. "Go ahead. I will try to explain as best I can."

Valkyrie took a few moments to formulate what she was going to say, absently fingering the Necromancer ring as she did so. "Well, first is the mirror in the hall."

Rapture actually stopped, surprised. "You saw something in the mirror?"

Valkyrie stopped too, and turned back to look. "Is that a bad thing?" She asked, a little worried.

"That depends on what you saw." Rapture stated, walking again.

"Ah. There were two black figures flitting around behind me. They had these creepy looking blank eyes." Valkyrie kept pace with her, glancing at Skulduggery, who was walking a little way ahead of them.

"That is...unusual."

"So it _is _a bad thing?"

"Potentially."

"Well, at least you're honest."

Rapture smiled as she walked, picking a vividly green snake up off the floor and draping it around her shoulders. "The mirror in the hall has a habit of reflecting a person's dark side. Now, everyone has a little darkness in their hearts, some more than others, but most people only see a slight haze."

Valkyrie frowned. _Darquesse. _It _had _to be Darquesse, even if she didn't quite know what it meant. And then there was the second figure she had seen in the mirror. What was that all about?

She was dragged from her thoughts by Rapture, who had continued speaking.

"The fact that you saw something with actual mass is a little disconcerting. The fact that you saw _two _somethings is even more worrying."Valkyrie held her breath, hoping Rapture wouldn't pry. It would be hard to explain if she did, and a total disaster if Skulduggery found out.

"But," she shrugged. "That's your business, not mine."

Valkyrie sighed in relief. "Thank you." She said gratefully.

"Think nothing of it~." Rapture smiled, stroking the green snake fondly and descending the stairs to the first floor. Valkyrie followed after her, glancing around at the strange weapons once again.

Deciding she would probably regret it if she didn't at least ask, Valkyrie picked up a metal instrument that resembled nothing more than the overly long hilt of a sword, and called after Rapture. "I saw this on the way up." She stated, lifting it up to show Rapture when she turned around. "And I couldn't help but wonder what it is, or if it's just broken."

Rapture backed up and slid the hilt from Valkyrie's grip. "Ah. Nicely spotted. This may come in handy." She pressed a small button that Valkyrie hadn't seen before, and two spines jutted diagonally out the flat of the hilt, their tips just about touching.

There was an electrical crackle, the smell of ozone, and a blade made solely of lightning flashed into existence.

Rapture swiped the blade across a gun rack in one fluid movement and it fell to the floor in two clean halves, weapons rolling every which way. She pressed the button again, there was another crackle, and the blade faded away as the spines retracted.

Valkyrie whistled. "Now _that..._" She grinned, "is cool_._"

Rapture grinned right back, strapping the Lightning-Blade to a weapon belt that was hanging from the banister and fixing it around her waist. Valkyrie watched as she filled the other empty slots in the belt with weapons of varying size and normality. Others were, from what she could gather, entirely magical. Just like the Lightning-Blade.

As Rapture stocked up, Valkyrie peered down the stairs to make sure Skulduggery couldn't hear what they were saying. He was standing by the door with his arms crossed, tapping an impatient foot against the carpeted floor.

"Hey, Rapture..."

Rapture glanced up as she slid several throwing knives into a pouch strapped to her belt loop.

"Hmm~? Did you still have some questions for me?"

Valkyrie nodded, and then found that she was smirking. "I couldn't help but notice those letters on the desk in your room, and you seem to be _awfully _friendly with Skulduggery."

Rapture waited patiently for her to finish, an amused twinkle in her eye.

"So were you two like, a couple or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Skulduggery spoke from right beside Valkyrie, making her jump. He had a skill when it came to sneaking up on people. "I'm a skeleton, in case you had forgotten."

Rapture chuckled. "That may be true, Skulduggery, but I've been with far stranger individuals than yourself. _In case you had forgotten._" A smirk. "And what about China? I got the impression there was perhaps something between you both."

"_China?_" Valkyrie gaped, glancing between the two sorcerers disbelievingly.

Skulduggery turned to look at Valkyrie. "Just ignore her. She's very fond of talking utter nonsense. And she may have flirted with me, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Rapture flirts with _everybody_."

"Flirted _at _you, my dear Skulduggery. You never were very good at returning the gesture."

"God, you're like an old married couple." Valkyrie snickered.

"Right. That's it." Skulduggery declared. "I'm leaving." And he walked back down the stairs and out the front door.

Rapture finished stocking up her weapon belt and followed Skulduggery after carefully placing the snake on the banister. Valkyrie walked close behind, giggling.

As she passed the mirror in the hall, she saw one of the dark figures again. There was a blur of movement and, for a split second, Valkyrie could have sworn she saw a flash of bone-white skin and glittering red eyes next to it. But then it was gone.

Deciding that it was just her mind playing tricks, she shrugged and followed Rapture outside.

–

They were half way back to the Bentley before Valkyrie managed to stop giggling. Rapture, who now sported an ankle-length leather trench coat with purple lining, wore a permanent grin upon her face. Skulduggery only grumbled as he walked ahead of them, which was quite a rare thing in itself.

"You never did tell me." Valkyrie managed to choke out in between lingering giggles. "What were those letters about?"

Before Rapture could answer, Skulduggery cut across. "They were letters pertaining to certain cases. Rapture used to be a detective too. She was my partner."

"_Partner?"_ Valkyrie repeated. "You said you only ever had one partner, and that he died horribly. Screaming."

Rapture pretended to look hurt. "You never mentioned me, Skulduggery? That really hurts my feelings you know."

Skulduggery ignored both comments and continued. "Some of our cases were long-term and involved travelling to far away places. Sometimes separately. We wrote letters in code to keep each other updated."

"Oh really?" Valkyrie asked, smirking again.

"Yes really."

"Well, that's not what I think those letters were."

"And what, pray tell, _O' Great Detective,_ do you think they were?"

"_Love letters."_

"Or perhaps they are exactly what I said they were."

"So why did Rapture have them lying on her desk _now, _when you said you haven't seen each other for _twenty years_?"

"Maybe she likes admiring my amazing handwriting."

"Nope. Love letters." Valkyrie persisted.

There was a brief pause, and then Skulduggery stalked off. "I don't know _why _I even bother..." He muttered, and then went on to grumble something about women.

Valkyrie looked at Rapture for confirmation of her theory, but Rapture only smiled back in that enigmatic little way of hers. After a few moments, both of them burst out laughing.

–

Once they reached they gate, Rapture was utterly delighted to see the Bentley.

"I really did miss the old gal." She said fondly, running a hand lightly along the bonnet.

"Have you been taking good care of her, Skulduggery?"

"Yes, I have." Skulduggery answered.

"No, he hasn't." Valkyrie said simultaneously.

Rapture snorted. "You've found yourself such a _loyal _partner."

"Tell me about it." Skulduggery grumbled, unlocking the doors and getting into the driver's seat.

Valkyrie smiled innocently and got in the passenger's side, leaving Rapture to seat herself in the back.

As they drove, Valkyrie tried to pick up the conversation where she and Rapture had left off before Skulduggery had interrupted. "There were a couple of other things I meant to ask."

"Shoot."

"Firstly, my Necromancer ring seemed to react strongly towards your house."

"I have a lot of snakes. Some of them die." Rapture replied with a casual shrug, and Valkyrie didn't answer. "But you don't believe that, do you?" Valkyrie hesitated, and then shook her head. Rapture smiled.

"I have many secrets, but the fact I'm not a people person isn't one of them. Whenever a disagreement occurs beneath my roof, it usually doesn't end well."

Valkyrie turned in her seat to look at Rapture, and she added; "For the other person, of course."

"Naturally." Skulduggery muttered.

"And you'd be surprised how many dim-witted sorcerers try to break into my house and steal some of the valuable, magical artefacts I keep there."

"Not all of them are dim-witted. _I _broke into your house once, remember?" Skulduggery pointed out.

"And how did that go for you~?" Rapture hummed. "Four broken ribs and a fractured skull, if I remember correctly. Oh yes. And I tried to feed you to one of my snakes."

Skulduggery grumbled some more, and Valkyrie stared. "You're never usually like this." She said slowly, eyebrows raised. "Usually you're full of witty retorts and sarcastic comments."

"My god, you're right. The apocalypse must be just around the corner!" Skulduggery answered in mock-horror, regaining some of his old humour.

Rapture nudged Valkyrie gently with an elbow and winked conspiratorially. "It's just my amazing charm." She whispered. Valkyrie laughed, and Skulduggery was silent for the rest of the trip.


	6. A Regular Casanova

_**Ireland, 1937**_

_**Skulduggery Pleasant's place of residence**_

_Outside lightning flashed, and a heavy downpour of freezing cold rain battered the windows of Skulduggery's house. Inside, two figures sat round a table, locked in a battle of wits. _

"_Check mate~." Sarah declared happily as she moved her one remaining Knight across the chess board. Skulduggery stared at the black and white pieces for a moment before answering. _

"_That's not right. You must have cheated." _

"_Skulduggery, you have watched every single move I've made since the game began. I didn't cheat, and you know it."_

"_...It was your hair again. It distracted me."_

_Sarah chuckled quietly, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Admit it, my skeletal friend. You have lost."_

"_It was just a clever tactical manoeuvre."_

"_What, losing the game?" _

"_Exactly."_

"_Absolute genius."_

"_Yes, I rather thought so."_

_Their banter was interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door. Sarah arched an eyebrow, and Skulduggery turned his head to face the direction of the noise. _

"_Hm, interesting. I wonder who could be calling at this hour, and in such bad weather too?"Sarah mused._

"_Well, the door isn't going to answer itself." _

_Sarah nodded, and Skulduggery got to his feet. "Yes. Perhaps you can dazzle whoever it is with the awe-inspiring tale of your brilliant tactical manoeuvre."_

_Skulduggery walked off to answer the door and returned a minute later, a woman with long blonde hair following after him. Sarah thought her resemblance to a drowned rat was uncanny. _

"_Ah, Princess. How lovely to see you." She purred, looking up at the drenched woman with an amused twinkle in her eyes. "And how is dear old Meri?"_

_The woman named Princess scowled at Sarah, but didn't answer. Instead she turned to look at Skulduggery. "I need your help, Detective Pleasant."_

_Nodding, Skulduggery gestured to the sofa that was pushed up against a wall. "Of course. Why don't you take a seat?"_

_Princess gave a slightly jerky nod of her own and sat down, before proceeding to wring her hands nervously. This didn't go unnoticed by Sarah."You look a little worried. Is the Grand Mage alright?" She asked, leaning her elbows on the table she was still seated at. _

"_My _father_ is fine." Princess huffed a little impatiently. "But that won't last for very long if you and Detective Pleasant don't help me out." _

_Sarah tilted her head to the side, curious. Skulduggery sat back down in his own chair at the table. He tapped one bony finger against his jaw for a few seconds before speaking._

"_Given that you decided to visit us in person, I take it this is something you wish to keep a secret from Meritorious." It was more of a statement than a question._

_Princess nodded. "Yes. And before I tell you what this is all about, you have to _swear _not to breathe a word to my father."_

"_Skulduggery certainly won't." Sarah cut in. "He doesn't have any breath."_

"_Quite." Princess agreed through gritted teeth._

"_Don't worry." Skulduggery added quickly, before Sarah could succeed in making Princess burst a blood vessel or two. "From this sudden visit, your general concern for The Grand Mage's safety and the insistence that we tell no-one, I can conclude that the best thing to do is keep quiet. We may work for your father, but if his well being hangs in the balance, I'm sure that a few rules can be bent accordingly."_

"_As if we follow the rules anyway~." Sarah hummed. _

_Skulduggery cocked his head to the side slightly, and she just knew that he was smiling._

"_Good." Princess said, sighing out of relief despite herself. "That's good."_

_From inside the extensive, rain-drenched cloak that she wore, Princess drew out a file that was labelled 'Romeo Casanova' in bold red letters. She handed the file to Skulduggery._

"_This man is the problem." _

_Skulduggery studied the name for a moment and then opened up the file, before leafing through its contents. Sarah leant across the table, peering over Skulduggery's shoulder._

_She could see a photograph of a beautiful young man paper-clipped to a sheet of paper that had a basic profile typed up on it. "Romeo Casanova..." Sarah read out loud, one eyebrow cocked. "Interesting choice of name." _

"_Yes, well, you would understand why if you met him." Princess muttered, wrinkling her nose in distaste. _

"_Oh?"_

"_You two know China Sorrows, don't you?" _

"_Unfortunately." Skulduggery replied, and Sarah laughed._

"_Well," Princess continued. "Romeo uses a similar type of magic to Miss Sorrows. Any woman who happens to lay eyes upon him instantly falls in love. He uses this skill to gain all sorts of advantages."_

"_Ah." Skulduggery said suddenly, realising where this was going. "And he used this skill to gain an advantage over you." _

_Princess shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. _

"_Indeed. I encountered the scoundrel on my latest trip to Venice, and things ended up getting a little..." She coughed, embarrassed._

"_Intimate?" Sarah offered, smirking._

_The pink in her cheeks turning a nice tomato red, Princess stared at her lap. _

"_That is one way to put it, yes." Her features suddenly turning hard, she sat up a little straighter._

"_Romeo has several- ah..._compromising_ photographs of me in his possession. And for the last month he has been using these photographs to blackmail me into spying on my father for the shady organization of sorcerers he is involved with."_

_Sarah nodded. "And you are worried this organization may wish to do your father harm?"_

"_It seems very likely."_

_Skulduggery closed the file on Romeo Casanova and placed it upon the table. _

"_Then Sarah and I need to retrieve and destroy these photographs as quickly as possible."_

_Princess smiled gratefully. "Thank you." _

_Sarah turned to Skulduggery and grinned. "To Venice~?"_

"_To Venice."_

–

_A young man with a ridiculously handsome face strutted down the narrow, Venetian street with a distinct air of confidence about him, as if he thought he owned the place._

_Every woman he passed instantly stopped what they were doing and stared, feeling more than a little flustered. _

_On the opposite side of the waterway, seated at a small outdoor café, Sarah and Skulduggery observed Romeo Casanova as he blew kisses and winked cheekily at a group of giggling women. _

_Skulduggery shook his head and Sarah knew that, if given a shiny new pair of eyeballs, he would have rolled them just then. Never missing the opportunity to tease her Partner, she sighed forlornly, exaggerating it as much as possible._

"_He _is _rather pretty... don't you think, Skulduggery?" She leant her chin on her palms and gazed dreamily across the water. "With his tousled-blonde hair and amazing blue eyes. Ungh, and those dimples are to _die _for~." She sighed again, and Skulduggery turned to stare at her. Or at least, Sarah _thought _he was staring at her. Even without his usual disguise; which consisted of a thick scarf and sunglasses, plus his signature hat pulled down low, his empty eye sockets would have given no clue as to where he was looking. Resisting the urge to laugh, Sarah continued. _

"_And I just _love_ the way he walks in those tight, leather trousers.."_

"_Personally, I think they make him look constipated." Skulduggery huffed, turning away to watch a passing Gondola. _

_They continued to observe Romeo until he made to leave, much to the disappointment of his adoring fans. Hair was pulled and exposed flesh was scratched as the women fought amongst themselves for the right to walk beside him. The moment he disappeared round a corner, Skulduggery got to his feet. Sarah copied this movement, dropping a few coins on the table for her untouched cup of tea. _

"_Time to go to work." She hummed, sticking both hands in her pockets._

–

_Sarah and Skulduggery shadowed Romeo as he made his way through the floating city, and not once did he suspect that he was being followed. He walked for a long time, stopping to flirt with many pretty women along the way. Sarah soon got bored of watching this, and found herself instead admiring the architectural beauty of Venice. She smiled and sighed, and Skulduggery tilted his head slightly. "Don't tell me; you're fascinated by the way Romeo's stupidly puffy silk shirt-sleeves billow in the wind?" _

_Sarah snorted. "No, actually. I was looking at some of the buildings. They really are very beautiful."_

"_Oh. I suppose they are."_

_Plastering the dreamy expression on her face once again, Sarah linked her arm with Skulduggery's and rested her cheek against his shoulder. _

"_Isn't it _so_ romantic_~?" _She gushed in a mocking tone. _

"_Yes. Lovely. Now would you kindly stop touching me? You're embarrassing yourself."_

"_I'm not entirely sure I'm the one being embarrassed right now."_

"_Me? You think that _I'm _embarrassed? Don't be absurd. Skulduggery Pleasant; cool as a cucumber. That's me."_

"_My God, you really _are _embarrassed!" Sarah exclaimed, straightening up and laughing. _

"_You are just too adorable, Skulduggery. If you had cheeks, I would pinch one and make ridiculous cutesy noises."_

"_Sarah, l-"_

"_Don't even bother, bones. I'm not going to believe you aren't embarrassed by me. No matter what you say." She slid her arm from Skulduggery's and placed both hands over her ears, humming a tune loudly. Sighing, the skeleton detective stopped, grabbed Sarah's shoulders with both hands and turned her to face a large, luxurious building that looked to be a hotel. She stopped humming immediately and peered at the entrance, and at that moment, Romeo disappeared inside. _

"_Oh." Sarah said, lowering her arms. "Well, why didn't you just say so~?" And she skipped off towards the building. Shaking his head in exasperation, Skulduggery followed._

–

_If the outside of the hotel was luxurious then it was nothing compared to the inside. Tall, wide pillars encircled the lobby area, and they seemed to glow like moonlight. A detailed painting of strange mythological creatures decorated the domed ceiling overhead, and a fountain made of bronze depicted those very same creatures in the centre of the marble-floored room. The water trickled away lazily and as Sarah stepped through the double doors, the first thing she noticed was how peaceful the sound made her feel. Skulduggery walked in after her and they both made their way over to the front desk. _

_Carved in fancy gold lettering above the desk were the words: _

_'**Welcome to Coven's Rest Hotel**', and directly beneath that; '**Absit invidia verbo**.'_

_Sarah studied the phrase beneath the hotel name for a moment. _

"_Hmm...I believe that is Latin for something along the lines of 'May ill will-"_

"_-be absent from the World." The desk clerk finished with a smile. _

_Sarah turned her gaze towards the woman that had spoken. Despite her obvious youth, she had grey hair that was tied up in a bun. Violet, pupil-less eyes stared at her intently._

"_Welcome to the Coven's Rest Hotel, where all sorcerers are welcome."_

_Sarah arched a questioning eyebrow. "How did you know we were sorcerers?" _

_The desk clerk allowed herself a quiet chuckle. "If you weren't, you never would have been able to pass through the front doors. They only part for magical people."_

"_Hm. Clever." Sarah hummed, impressed, and Skulduggery stepped forward. _

"_Can we get a couple of rooms, please?"_

"_Of course, Signore." The desk clerk nodded, taking out a rather dusty, over-sized ledger. "How long will you be staying with us?"_

"_Woah, hold up a second." Sarah butted in before Skulduggery could answer, placing her hand on top of the open ledger and preventing the clerk from writing anything._

"One _room is just fine. We can share."_

_Skulduggery turned to look at her and she shrugged._

"_What? I'm just trying to save us some money here!" She exclaimed in mock-protest._

_Skulduggery sighed. "While it would no doubt be easier to plan out a strategy if we were both sharing a room, I don't think my poor, innocent nature could cope with your overtly flirtatious behaviour. "He turned back to the clerk. "_Two _rooms."_

"_Innocent nature?" Sarah snorted. "Sure. And I'm God." She herself turned to look at the desk clerk. "_One _room, if you please_._"_

"Two._"_

"_Nope. _One._"_

"Two._"_

"One!"

"Two."

"/ONE/!"

"Three!"

_There was a pause, and then..."That doesn't even make any sense."_

"_I know."_

_Shrugging again, Sarah wandered over to the fountain and sat down on the edge._

_The desk clerk gave Skulduggery a sympathetic look. "Marital problems, is it?"_

"_What? Oh, God no. We're not-" He glanced at Sarah, who grinned happily at him and waved._

"_Oh, forget it..." He grumbled._

–

_The next morning, Sarah and Skulduggery headed towards **The Basilisk Lounge**;_ a_n area on the ground floor where guests could relax and listen to the live band that was playing, order a meal, or get a drink from the bar. _

_Sarah spotted Romeo almost immediately. He had a pretty woman hanging from each arm, both of whom sipped from champagne flutes and giggled as he spoke to a shady looking sorcerer with short dark hair and a long, black coat. After a few minutes the shady looking sorcerer walked off, leaving Romeo and co. to sit down at one of the three dozen tables that spanned the extensive Basilisk Lounge. Sarah and Skulduggery seated themselves several tables over, not so close as to arouse suspicion, but close enough to keep an eye on things. _

_The band at the head of the lounge started playing classical music, and a waiter strolled over to Skulduggery."What can I get you, Signore?" He glanced at Sarah. "Signorina?" _

"_Nothing for me, thank you." Skulduggery nodded. _

"_Not even a baguette?" Sarah asked casually, chin leant on one hand, a smile twitching at her lips._

_Skulduggery tilted his head to the side and stared at her, but didn't reply. He then turned back to the waiter as if nothing had happened, and Sarah snorted. "As I said, nothing for me. But I'm certain my friend here will devour your entire supply of vegetables."_

"_That's right." She confirmed with a single nod of the head. "Who do they think they are, with their orange and green skins? And _don't _even get me started on the beetroots. They simply _have _to die."_

_The waiter smiled tightly, as if he were far too used to such eccentric behaviour. _

"_Of course. One plate of fresh vegetables, coming right up." He did a funny little bow, and then walked off towards the kitchen. _

_While Sarah waited for her food, she observed Romeo carefully. A few more pretty young women had joined his table, and all of them were laughing and drinking. _

"_I bet he's really impressed with himself. The smug bastard." Sarah commented mildly, drumming her fingers against the table._

"_Oh? What happened to '_he has dimples to die for_'?" _

"_I was pulling your unnaturally thin leg." _

"_So you, and you alone, can manage to resist the charms that has every other woman fawning over him as if they were a school girl again?" _

"_Well, he _is _very pretty. But I, personally, never really had any time for pretty boys."_

_Sarah winked at Skulduggery. "I do, however, have a thing for living skeletons."_

"_Not to mention vampires, demons, centaurs, harpies, banshees- oh, and didn't you date a zombie that one time?" Skulduggery added drily. _

"_Yes, but it didn't really work out. Bits of him kept falling off at the most awkward of times."_

"_I'm sorry to hear that."_

"_Not as sorry as I was."_

_Before their conversation could reach any more levels of weird, Sarah's food arrived. The plate barely made contact with the table before she started grabbing bits of lettuce and carrot and shoving them into her mouth. Sarah ate with gusto that rivalled even the greediest of pigs._

_It only took a minute or two for her to completely eradicate the plate of any greens._

"_Perhaps you should be reincarnated as a dustbin after you die."Skulduggery commented thoughtfully._

"_Yes, and perhaps you should be reincarnated as a xylophone." Sarah mused, picking up her fork and reaching across the table to tap Skulduggery's ribs with it. They made quite a nice sound._

"_See? Perfect."_

_Skulduggery went to reply, but stopped. He nodded his head towards Romeo's table. _

"_I think you have an admirer."_

_Sarah turned around and saw Romeo looking her up and down. Slowly, a smile, which then turned into a grin, spread across his face."I think you're right." Sarah agreed, wiggling her fingers at the blonde and winking quite suggestively. "This could be our golden opportunity. If I can get him to like me enough, he might invite me back to his room." She added, not even glancing at Skulduggery as she continued to smile and wave at the other table. "And then I would be free to search for the photographs."_

_Romeo said something to the women that were sitting with him, who all looked a little disappointed, and then got up to leave. "He's coming over, Skulduggery. Do try not to punch him."Sarah said from in between her teeth as she smiled at Romeo, who had himself stood up and was now sauntering over._

"_I'll do my best, but I'm not promising anything." Skulduggery replied cheerfully._

"_Well hello there, Signorina." Romeo purred silkily, grabbing the top of a free chair and spinning it round on the spot. He then proceeded to sit on said chair the wrong way round, with his legs dangling on either side of the backrest and his arms folded along the top._

"_And what might your name be?"_

"_It _might _be Anna, or it _might_ be Rachel. Perhaps even Lucy. I can't quite remember." Sarah replied, leaning her head on a hand. There was a smirk on her lips._

_Romeo laughed, and it was the sound of a thousand angels singing. When Sarah didn't really react to this he looked a little surprised, but not unpleasantly so. "You, Signorina are...different."_

"_Most people tell me that." Sarah nodded. "And then they either run away, or try to beat me up."_

_Romeo laughed again and shuffled the chair a little closer. "You have such beautiful green eyes. Like a thousand crushed emeralds, glistening in the sun."_

_Skulduggery, who had said not a single word until now, made a sound that may well have been a laugh. Romeo turned to look, as if noticing him for the first time. _

"_And who is your friend?" He asked Sarah, one eyebrow raised, a playful smile on his lips._

"_Oh. _Him._ Ignore him. Bones is just a work colleague of mine." She leant towards Romeo, one hand cupped around her mouth. "And to be honest with you," she whispered. "He's a little bit, you know..._slow in the head_."_

_Skulduggery harrumphed, and Sarah found it very hard not to snicker._

"_Right." Romeo chuckled. "So I guess Mr. Bones won't mind if I steal you away for a glass of wine in my penthouse suite?" He took one of Sarah's hands and pressed a gentle kiss to it. _

_Sarah made a great show of covering her mouth with the other hand and giggling childishly. _

"_Whisk me off my feet, Prince Charming~!" She giggled again._

"_Oh, for God's sake..." Skulduggery muttered._

"_As you wish, Signorina." Romeo grinned, getting to his feet and bowing gracefully, before scooping Sarah off her chair and turning to leave._

"_Catch you later, Mr. Bones." He called back to Skulduggery, waving a lazy goodbye over his shoulder. _

_He may have made a rude gesture with his hand, Skulduggery thought, if he weren't above such things. _

_Instead he settled for a little bit of sneaky air manipulation. _

_With one gloved hand poking out from under the table, he snapped his palm open. A sudden gust of wind travelled through The Basilisk Lounge and Romeo stumbled forwards, smacking his head on the side of a marble pillar. Skulduggery reclined in his chair and crossed his legs, a certain satisfied air about him._

–

_Sarah had expected something as such from Skulduggery, so when the sudden gust of wind propelled Romeo forward, she manoeuvred her body accordingly, avoiding any damage._

_Romeo was not so lucky. He managed to hit his head on one of the marble pillars, and even though Sarah made a fuss, asking if he was alright or if he needed her to get any help, it took every single ounce of her self restraint _not _to laugh. Laughing would certainly be the wrong move to make if she wanted any chance of retrieving those photographs. Romeo assured Sarah that he was quite alright, and after a few moments shrugged it off and laughed. He took her into the elevator and they travelled all the way to the penthouse suite on the top floor. Not considering the possibility that Sarah wasn't even remotely interested in sleeping with him, Romeo let his guard down. He was so used to being everything that every woman wanted, the idea of Sarah using _him, _and not the other way around was completely absurd. _

_And so he spoke freely about his job, about the people he was involved with and the other magical abilities he possessed. Sarah nodded in all the right places, making sure her eyes were as wide and interested-looking as possible, all the while thinking what a moron this man was. _

_Just as they entered through the double doors into the suite, Romeo started talking about the Irish Grand Mage, and how he was blackmailing this man's daughter to spy on him, for the people he worked for. Sarah got the impression they were nothing more than a ragtag crew of anarchists, lashing out blindly at the Sanctuaries with no real plan to go on._

_She made a noise like she didn't quite believe all the things Romeo was telling her, to which he laughed and replied: "It's true, I swear! I'm not just a pretty face, you know."_

**Yes, you are**,_ Sarah thought mildly as she glanced around the room. She spotted a safe in the corner next to the bed, several books and a half empty bottle of wine perched on top of it. _

_While Romeo may not have been clever enough to put the photographs somewhere other than a great big, conspicuous safe, Sarah had to be completely sure before she made her move._

"_So...how are you even blackmailing this woman?" She asked, trying not to sound too interested. _

_Romeo wasted no time in telling her. "I have some photographs of her she really doesn't want to see the light of day." He chuckled. "I keep them over there, in that safe." He pointed to the corner of the room. "But it's magically reinforced and only I know how to unlock it. Even if she finds out where I am, she'll never be able to get back those photos."_

_Sarah glanced up to see the smug expression on his face as he placed her carefully on a chaise longue, and then sat down next to her "That's pretty clever." She said, sounding impressed._

"_Grazie, Signorina." Romeo whispered, and leaned in to kiss her. _

_Sarah kissed him back roughly, not letting up until he was gasping for breath. She took this opportunity to use some of her particular Adept skills, growing two snake fangs and sinking them into Romeo's neck. Before he had time to react, a paralysing poison had seeped into his blood stream, rendering him instantly immobile. Sarah let him fall stiffly to the floor, his blinking eyes the only things that moved. _

"_Sorry about that, my little Casanova," Sarah purred. "But I have a job to do~." And she got up from the chaise longue, making quite sure to stand on Romeo's chest as she walked past. _

_He followed her progress across the room with wide eyes, unable to do anything when she knelt down next to the safe and placed a palm flat against the door. She disabled the magical defences with ease, and then swiped her hand upward. A diagonal cut appeared in the safe a few seconds later, the top half of it sliding to the floor with a 'thunk'. Claw-like nails retracted into Sarah's fingers, and she scooped up a thin packet from the remains of the safe. She opened it up and, satisfied with its contents, took a book of matches from her pocket before striking one up. _

_A sharp-toothed grin on her face, Sarah looked down at Romeo as she set fire to the photographs and threw them into a bin. And, as he watched, he could have sworn her pupils contracted into snake-like slits, the flames reflected in them making her look quite demented._

"_Don't worry." She said silkily, once the photos were little more than a pile of ash. "The venom will ware off in an hour, and you will be able to move again." She made for the door, but stopped before walking out. "And if you know what's good for you, you won't_ _tell anyone about what happened here. You never even saw me. Am I clear?"Romeo remained paralysed. _

"_I'm glad that we understand each other~." And Sarah skipped from the room. _

–

_Skulduggery was just exiting The Basilisk Lounge when Sarah stepped out from the elevator._

"_Was he as stupid as he looked?" He asked, coming to a halt next to the fountain._

_Sarah strolled over to the desk and signed them out. "Does mouse shit roll? Mission accomplished, my anorexic friend." _

_A grin parted her lips."We can go home~."_


	7. Following the Trail

Despite what Rapture had said about not being a people person, Valkyrie found that she was actually easily likeable, if somewhat creepy. She seemed to be the only one that could shut Skulduggery up completely, something which Valkyrie found more than a little impressive.

There had to be, she concluded, history between the pair.

Skulduggery parked the Bentley in a street close to the alleyway where they had encountered Baron Stattlich earlier that day, and stepped out onto the pavement. Thankfully it had stopped raining.

"So where is it that we are actually going?" Rapture asked mildly, hopping out from the car and walking over to where Skulduggery stood.

"It's this way." He stated, breaking his previous silence and gesturing down a dark alley.

"You can't miss it, really. I think the huge lorry sticking out of the wall kind of gives it away."

Valkyrie joined the pair, and all three of them started making their way towards said lorry.

"He tried to run you over with a lorry?" Rapture asked, tutting as they walked.

"He did."

"Well that's just cheating."

Skulduggery nodded. "That's exactly what I said."

Valkyrie snorted a laugh and Skulduggery turned to look at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." She whistled, looking away. Rapture smirked.

Once they reached the lorry, the first thing Rapture did was to examine the huge hole in the side of its container. Valkyrie tried to avoid thinking about the Demon-Hound that had emerged from it, and instead went to look at the half-buried driver's cabin. Once again she wondered how Stattlich had even managed to get away without a single scratch on him; the windscreen, seats, dashboard and steering wheel had all been merged together, with a few bricks from the wall it had collided with thrown into the mix.

Probably that thing he did with the smoke, Valkyrie thought, frowning. In her opinion, it looked like a cross between teleporting and the little Necromancer trick called 'shadow-walking'.

Finding nothing of interest in the cabin, Valkyrie walked back over to Rapture and Skulduggery. Rapture was kneeling down next to the container, examining a giant paw print in the concrete. Little cracks spider-webbed every which way, and small bits of rubble were scattered around the impression. "Hmm..." Rapture said after a moment, running her fingers along one of the grooves a claw had made. "This particular Demon-Hound is little more than a cub. Adults are at least three times bigger."

Valkyrie stared at her. "You're kidding, right?" Fear bubbled and churned in her gut as the possibility of encountering a fully grown Demon-Hound crossed her mind. The other one was big enough.

"I'm afraid not. It makes sense the Baron used only a cub, as an adult would be considerably harder to control." Rapture stood up and walked over to the next paw print. "We should follow these and see if we can learn anything interesting." Skulduggery nodded and the trio set off down an interlinking alleyway, Rapture scanning the floor intently as they walked. It was getting pretty dark now, and Valkyrie was finding it hard to see where she was going. Skulduggery had no such trouble and, much to Valkyrie's surprise, neither did Rapture. She followed the paw prints with confidence and ease, as if she had walked this path a thousand times before. Deciding she didn't want to embarrass herself by walking into a wall, Valkyrie conjured a small flame in her hand and held it out in front of her.

After roughly a mile the tracks stopped, doubled back a few paces, and then disappeared altogether.

"Ah. Now this is where things get a little tricky." Rapture stated, taking a deep breath.

Valkyrie arched a questioning eyebrow.

"Do you remember me telling you how a Demon-hound is much like a Necromancer tool?"

Valkyrie nodded.

"Well, not only can they convert death into power and manipulate shadows, they can also _become _shadows."

"And that's how the Hound just simply vanished." Skulduggery concluded.

"Yes. But that's not the important question here." Rapture added.

"Indeed."

Valkyrie looked between them both, waiting for an explanation. When they made no move to tell her, she frowned. And then it clicked."Ah. The question is not _how _the Demon-Hound vanished, but _why _it vanished."

"Very good." Skulduggery hummed. "You get a shiny A+."

"An A+?"

"Yes. Congratulations."

"Can I spend it?"

"No."

"Can I _eat _it?"

"No."

"Then what good is it?"  
"Well, when life is getting you down or the world is about to come to a horrifying conclusion, you can think back to your achievement, your shiny little A+, and it will fill you with a comforting, smug pride." Skulduggery explained.

"Right up until the moment you die, in an agonizingly painful way~." Rapture added happily, smiling.

"Uh, thanks. I think." Valkyrie said slowly.

"You are most welcome." Skulduggery nodded.

"Any time~." Rapture purred.

"Can we, uh, get back to the case now?"

"I think that's a good idea, yes."

Crouching down next to the very last visible paw print, Rapture then glanced at Valkyrie.

"In shadow form the Demon-Hound may lose all solidity, but it still leaves behind a trail."

Valkyrie looked at the floor and frowned. "But I don't see any more paw prints."

"That is because they are invisible to the naked human eye..." Rapture glanced at Skulduggery.

"..and eye _sockets_."

"So how do we follow this trail if we can't see it?"

A sharp-toothed grin split Rapture's face. "Leave that to me."

Skulduggery turned to look at her, his head cocked to one side. "I thought we had agreed you shouldn't use that particular magic again. Don't you remember how disastrous everything turns out when you do?"

Rapture's grin shrank into a mischievous smirk."Of course I do. But what's life without a little danger?"And as Valkyrie watched, Rapture's pupils contracted into slits until she looked very much like a snake.

"_Rapture_." Skulduggery warned, but she ignored him and narrowed her eyes in concentration. The emerald green that surrounded her slitted pupils started to drain away, to be replaced by a bright crimson. In the gloom of the alleyway they almost seemed to glow. Satisfied, Rapture opened her eyes fully once again, and smiled. "There. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Skulduggery made an irritated noise. "I still don't think you should have-"

But he was cut off by the sudden pained snarl that had escaped Rapture's lips. She clutched at her head and stooped over, what little colour she had draining from her cheeks. Her canine teeth became long and pointed, and her short hair rippled in a non-existent breeze.

Valkyrie took an instinctive step backwards, eyes wide. The expression on Rapture's face was terrifying; a mixture of the most unimaginable pain and a purely primal rage.

Her red eyes shone brightly and the pavement shook and started to crumble, sections of wall collapsing around it.

"Skulduggery... what's going on?" Valkyrie asked in a quiet, shaky voice, but Skulduggery didn't hear. Instead he walked over to Rapture, who was now clutching each temple with a hand, and grabbed her shoulders. He gave them a little shake, his grip tightening until it was painful.

"Rapture." Her eyes were screwed shut, and she didn't open them. "Rapture, look at me." Skulduggery prompted a little more firmly, giving her shoulders another shake.

Slowly, Rapture opened her eyes. "Skulduggery...? What's-"

"Listen to me, Rapture." Skulduggery cut across. "You _have_ to calm down. Try and concentrate."  
Rapture looked as if she were about to protest, but then gave a jerky nod of the head.

"R-right."

She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. Gradually the shaking stopped, and the colour returned to Rapture's cheeks. Her hair settled down, and her teeth shrank back to their normal size.

Only the red slitted eyes remained. Looking a little exhausted but none the worse for ware, she sank into a heap on the ground. Skulduggery slowly lowered his arms to his sides and turned away.

"Hey, Skulduggery?" Rapture began, smiling.

Skulduggery moved his head a fraction to show he was listening.

"I think you were right." She laughed weakly.

Valkyrie, who had fallen over when the ground started shaking, got to her feet. She was just about to ask Skulduggery and Rapture what the hell that had all been about, when Skulduggery completely lost it.

"What were you thinking?! You could have killed Valkyrie and me!" He whipped round to face Rapture, arms raised questioningly, but the gesture was made a lot more threatening by his ferocity. Valkyrie recoiled at this sudden outburst of anger, but Rapture, to give her credit, didn't even flinch."You could have killed _yourself_!"

"Your concern is touching."

"I'm being _serious, _Rapture. That was an extremely foolish thing to do."

"What, are you berating me now?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Nobody else will do the damn job, so _I _will."

Rapture stared up at Skulduggery's skeletal profile for a few moments, and then sighed.

"I'm sorry Skulduggery. You are right, of course. I was foolish."

Skulduggery opened his jaw as if he were about to say something, and then closed it again, before shaking his head.

"I really am sorry." Rapture repeated, sticking her hand into a coat pocket and pulling out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

"I thought you had quit." Skulduggery said eventually as she went to light up.

"Yes, well," Rapture started, flipping the lighter closed, the cancer stick balanced between her lips. "I thought the occasion called for it."

–

An awkward silence followed that, and Valkyrie didn't dare break it, even to ask about Rapture's sudden freak out. She had never seen Skulduggery get so mad, and to be quite honest it scared her a little.

Finally, after finishing her cigarette, Rapture stood up and walked over to the paw print she had been examining earlier. "Well, I can see the rest of the trail now," she pointed to her glowing red eyes. "So we may as well follow it. That way, I can say I didn't risk all our lives for nothing."

Skulduggery grunted an affirmative, and Rapture strolled off down the alley.

"So..." Valkyrie said eventually as they walked. "Does anyone want to tell me what just happened?"

"I forgot to take my medication today, which almost resulted in a transformation much like Bruce Banner into The Incredible Hulk. Seriously. My skin goes all green and everything." Rapture joked.

Valkyrie laughed, and Skulduggery turned to look at her."Actually, that's not too dissimilar to what could have happened." He stated.

"What?" Valkyrie said slowly, raising her eyebrows. "Rapture would have turned green?"

"Orange, actually."

"_Seriously?_"

"No."

"Oh."

Rapture chuckled. "I think what he meant to say was, I would have changed. Changed into something else, all control and awareness completely gone."

"Like a vampire?"

"Yes." Rapture nodded, paused, and then shook her head. "And no."

Valkyrie pulled a face. "I'm confused."

"Trust me." Skulduggery said. "You're better off not knowing."

"Ignorance is bliss~." Rapture agreed.

–

Rapture explained the trail they were following took on the form of glowing red paw prints. It went on for miles and miles, and Valkyrie started to wonder if they would _ever _get there.

Skulduggery still appeared to be a little grumpy, but managed to slowly nurse his talkative nature back to health. Rapture stumbled or stopped for breath every now and then, clutching her chest as if it pained her a great deal. And, Valkyrie noticed, the skin around her eyes seemed to become darker and more tired looking with every minute that passed. She didn't look well.

Skulduggery seemed to have noticed this too, for he turned his head in her direction and back again every few minutes in what Valkyrie thought was a concerned manner.

She had only know Rapture for little more than half a day, but Valkyrie still found herself worrying.

Rapture was like a fun, older sister that let you get away with everything. Much like Tanith.

Valkyrie really hoped she would get better soon.

–

They were in a small forest clearing when Rapture finally stopped.

"The trail ends here." She declared, pointing to a spot in the grass that looked identical to every other patch of greenery.

"What, that's it? It just ends here?" Valkyrie asked, frowning. "Don't tell me we walked all this way for _nothing."_

"Not nothing, no." Rapture reassured her, kicking at the grass with the heel of her steel-capped boot. The dirt parted easily, and a dull metallic 'clunk' rang throughout the clearing.

"I think we've found the Baron's evil lair."


	8. Norse Gods and Ninja

_**Ireland, 1954**_

_**Roarhaven**_

_Sarah sat in a small, dingy sorcerer's bar, cigarette in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. She necked the amber liquid and then waved her glass in front of the bartender's face._

"_Another scotch, my good man." She said mockingly. The man scowled, but took the glass anyway._

"_Some time today." Sarah added as he fumbled around for the right bottle. _

"_Oh, that's lovely, that is." He grumbled. "People are just so impatient nowadays."_

_Tilting her head to the side, Sarah studied him curiously. "No...that's not it. I usually have the patience of a Saint. It must just be you. You annoy me."_

_The bartender huffed, handing Sarah her drink. "Why do people _always _say that?" And he continued to mutter similar things to himself as he shuffled over to the opposite end of the bar._

_Just as Sarah had finished her second glass of scotch, a man entered the pub. He wore a long overcoat, thick scarf, large sunglasses and a navy blue hat. Business was particularly slow in this little no-name pub, and Sarah had been the only customer that day, so when the man with concealed features walked over to the bar, the bartender skipped over with an excited little smile on his face. "What can I get you, pal?"_

"_Oh, nothing for me, thank you." He took a seat next to Sarah and nodded in her direction. _

"_I'm just here to talk."_

_Looking a little disappointed, the bartender drooped his head. "Oh. Alright then." And he walked off again, grumbling. _

"_What is it you want, Skulduggery?" Sarah asked without even looking at the man sitting next to her, grabbing the bottle of scotch from the bar-top._

"_I have a new case that you might be interested in." Skulduggery Pleasant removed his sunglasses, revealing the empty eye sockets underneath. "It all sounds rather fun, actually. Lots of interesting new villains to punch very hard in the face."_

"_I'm not a detective any more."_

"_I know that, but-" He stopped and stared at her for a moment. "Since when did you smoke?"_

_Sarah shrugged. "Since today?" _

_Skulduggery stared for a moment longer. "Ever since you quit your job as a detective you've been frequenting several pubs a night, and now you smoke. You're upset about something, aren't you?"_

"_Whatever gave you that idea?"  
"I think it might have been the little storm cloud above your head."_

_After taking a generous gulp from the bottle of scotch, Sarah actually turned on her stool to face Skulduggery."I remember. Not everything, but I still remember." She stated._

"_Am I supposed to know what you mean by that?"_

"_Stop playing dumb, Skulduggery. You know exactly what I mean." _

_Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Nope, you've lost me."_

_Sarah ignored this last comment. "The memories came in dreams at first, and that's all I thought they were. Dreams. But then it started to happen when I was awake, too; flashes of a past that wasn't my own." She finished her cigarette and flicked it into an ashtray." So I did a little research, reading up on Vampirekind and their origins." _

"_Ah." Skulduggery said quietly._

"_The more I researched, the more I remembered, even though there are still extensive gaps in my memory." Sarah smiled lopsidedly." I remember enough to know that my entire existence is a lie, though." She raised the bottle of scotch and said loudly; "And that, my dear Skulduggery, is why I'm getting pissed on a regular basis." She knocked the bottle against his hollow head, knocking off his hat. "Cheers!"_

_Skulduggery sighed and retrieved his hat, brushing some imaginary lint from the brim._

"_Come on, Sarah. Let's go. I rather think you've had too much to drink."_

"_Do you have any idea how much it takes to get me drunk? It's ridiculous. I've only had enough when I say I've had enough!" Sarah protested, getting up and walking with increasingly wobbly steps to the next stool over. She placed the bottle of scotch on the bar and then went to sit down. And missed entirely. She fell into a giggling heap on the floor. _

_Skulduggery put his hat back on and walked over, bending down to help her up. "I never will understand why people deliberately drink fermented fruit and vegetable juice, only to have it decrease their brain function and motor skills by a grand total of seventy percent. It really is beyond me."_

_Sarah grabbed onto the arms that Skulduggery offered, and tried to pull herself into a standing position. "You're just jealous because you can never get pissed." _

"_Your drunken logic is impeccable." _

"_I thought as much."_

_Sarah threw some money at the bartender, who glared at the back of her head when she turned around, and Skulduggery helped her outside. They made their way over to his car, which was currently a Salmson Randonn__ée G-72, and Sarah all but collapsed in the back. _

_Upon arriving at the dirt track leading to Sarah's house and opening up the back door of his car, Skulduggery discovered that she was already sleeping. Shaking his head and muttering something about drunken hedgehogs, he leaned in through the door and scooped her up into his arms._

_Sarah smiled contentedly in her sleep and hooked her arms around Skulduggery's neck, burying her face into the material of his coat. _

–

_Sarah awoke the next morning to a wave of nausea and dizziness, her head pounding as if someone were banging on it with a sledgehammer. Groaning, she slowly sat up and looked around. She was in her own bed, in her own house. _

_Trying to recall the previous evening, she dragged herself out from the covers and stumbled over to the bathroom, eyes narrowed against the pain. Turning on the taps, she undressed, stepped into the shower and looked up, the cool water refreshing on her face._

_Feeling a little better after the shower, but the effects of her ridiculously bad hangover still sending fresh waves of nausea churning through her gut, Sarah pulled on a bath robe and padded back into the bedroom. A case file which she hadn't noticed before sat on the desk by her bed, and suddenly her memories came flooding back. She had visited several local pubs, which somehow ended with her sitting at a bar in Roarhaven. Skulduggery had come to find her, talking about a new case he had been given, and Sarah had replied with a bunch of drunken nonsense concerning her current predicament. After that, Skulduggery must have driven her home._

"_Ah." Sarah sighed, a little exasperated. "Remind me not to get drunk again." She told the lemon coloured snake that had just slithered up her calf. "At least not for a little while."_

_For the past month Sarah had been dreaming, and seeing flashes of her past. _

_Her _true _past. _

_Not the fabrication her damaged mind had provided to fill in the gaps over fifty years ago._

_Most of these images were incoherent. Static noise. But she also caught snatches of her upbringing; a vampire amongst humans, struggling to fit in. She had started off as a surprisingly pure and innocent creature, who was later betrayed and corrupted by the people around her. Only blood and death and loneliness followed, until one day it all just stopped. Sarah couldn't remember how it had happened, but her own body was lost, and she had ended up in this one. _

_Thinking about the whole thing was enough to give anyone a headache. _

_But despite what she had told Skulduggery the previous evening, the fact that her current life was just an invention by the person she used to be, didn't bother her in the slightest. _

_Because in the end, all a person is is just a collection of memories amassed over time. Sarah didn't really care whether her memories were real or not. They still made her who she was _now, _and that was the only thing that mattered. _

_No. It wasn't her dual existence that bothered her at all. Just that she had been lied to about it. _

_That _Skulduggery _had lied. _

_It didn't take a genius to work out why the Grand Mage had hired her to be a Sanctuary detective in the first place. And it didn't take a ridiculously sharp mind to deduce the reasoning behind his choice to make Skulduggery her partner, either. Skulduggery worked for Meritorious, and so the Grand Mage had charged him with keeping an eye on her. Metaphorically speaking, of course._

_She understood his cooperation at first, but after _fifty years _of working together, Sarah had to wonder if her friendship with Skulduggery really meant so little to him._

_Did he not think she could handle being told the truth? Did he really and truly believe that she could not have dealt with the problem in her own way? _

_Sighing, Sarah sat down on her bed and reached out for the case file on the desk. Left here by Skulduggery, no doubt. She opened it up and glanced over each page. _

_Apparently, a duo of what could only be described as 'ninja' had broken into the Sanctuary last week and stolen a powerful magical artefact. It was later discovered that a particularly old tome related to said artefact was missing aswell._

_Sarah cocked an eyebrow. Now she knew what Skulduggery had been talking about when he'd mentioned the 'lots of interesting new villains to punch very hard in the face'. _

_In fact, she didn't think that she had ever come across any ninja before. _

_Snapping the case file closed, Sarah sighed again. Perhaps she had motivation enough for this one case after all. For old time's sake. It would also be the perfect opportunity to interrogate Skulduggery about his fifty year silence.. _

_**If he produces a satisfying enough** **answer**, Sarah thought, **then I may even consider becoming a detective once again. **_

_**If not, well... we'll get to that when the time comes.**_

–

_After getting dressed Sarah made her way downstairs. Miraculously, by the time she had reached the living room, her nausea and dizziness had all but disappeared._

_She picked up her phone and dialled Skulduggery's number, and the skeleton detective answered on the second ring. _

"_Hello?"_

"_I've decided that beating up ninja sounds like a fun thing to do." Sarah declared._

"_Excellent." Skulduggery replied cheerfully._

"_Just hurry the hell up and get over here. I'm already getting restless." _

"_Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."_

"_At least I didn't wake up on the wrong side of the womb."_

"_Your vulgarity never ceases to amaze me."_

"_I aim to please." _

_Sarah hung up. _

_An hour and a half passed before Skulduggery knocked on the door, by which time Sarah had managed to get through a whole packet of cigarettes. She practically wrenched the door off its hinges, slamming it behind her as she strode past Skulduggery, saying not a word. _

_He remained where he was for a moment, and then followed her down the garden path._

"_I would have arrived sooner, but considering that you live at the back end of nowhere, the delay was a little hard to avoid."_

_Sarah didn't reply._

"_How's your hangover treating you?"_

_Still no answer. _

"_Right. You're annoyed with me, aren't you?"_

_Sarah stopped walking and whirled round to face him._

"_What, because you've been lying to me for fifty years? Because you've been lying when I thought you were my friend? No, of course not. Why on _earth _would I be annoyed by that?" Sarah didn't sound angry, but there was a creepy smile on her face. It was a little unnerving._

"_I was right. You _are _annoyed with me."_

"_Oh, shut up you walking xylophone." Sarah turned her back on Skulduggery and continued down the path. _

"_That went well." He muttered to himself, walking after her._

–

_Not really knowing anything about the duo that had broken into the Sanctuary other than the fact they were ninja, Sarah and Skulduggery made their way over to China's library. If anyone knew something about the people they were looking for, it was her. _

_China Sorrows was just about to walk through her apartment door when Sarah and Skulduggery entered the library. She stopped, turned, and smiled that dazzling smile of hers. _

"_Skulduggery. Sarah. To what do I owe the pleasure?"_

"_Do you know anything about the people who broke into the Sanctuary last week?"Skulduggery asked._

"_Both magical ninja, apparently." Sarah added, glancing around at some of the books on a nearby shelf._

_Arching a delicate eyebrow, China looked Sarah up and down, taking in the clothes she had practically thrown on, the dark circles beneath her eyes, her slightly messier-than-usual hair and the general dour expression on her face. _

"_You look gorgeous."_

"_And you are looking absolutely exquisite. You'll have to tone it down a little, before I end up ravishing you in front of everyone." Sarah replied with equal sarcasm. There was no smile upon her face._

"_Quite." _

_China never had like Sarah. There was just something _off_ about her. _

_The fact that she seemed to be more or less the only person in the world who wasn't in love with her did nothing to help that dislike._

"_As for these people you are looking for, these _ninja, _I have absolutely no idea where they could be. But-" China started walking down an isle of bookshelves and Skulduggery followed, Sarah trudging slowly along behind them both. "- I _have_ heard of a man who may know where they are."_

"_Well, it's a start at least." Skulduggery said. _

_China stopped and turned to face them. "His name is Kuro Kumo, and he lives about thirty miles from here. Rumour has it that he used to be a part of the organization known as 'Yami Tsuki'; a group of felonious ninja who gave the Japanese Sanctuary quite a bit of trouble a few years back."_

_Sarah stopped looking at the books on the shelves to actually pay attention to the conversation, and hummed thoughtfully. "So this guy 'Black Spider', used to work for an organization known as 'Dark Moon'?" She raised an eyebrow and said drily;"Well, that doesn't sound at all ominous or clichéd."_

"_Indeed." Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Doesn't kumo mean 'cloud'?"_

"_It could mean both cloud _or _spider, but I seriously doubt this guy picked 'Black Cloud' as his name."_

"_Ah. I suppose you're right. Black Cloud doesn't sound very threatening. In fact, it sounds positively cute."_

"_And fluffy. Don't forget fluffy."_

"_Yes. That too."_

_Not staying much longer after learning Kumo's address from China, Sarah and Skulduggery headed back to the car and started driving immediately. Apparently, this man they were after had left Yami Tsuki by his own volition, and as far as anyone could tell seemed to harbour an absolute hatred for the organization. The particular reason as to why he hated them so much was unknown, but hopefully this would make it easier for Sarah and Skulduggery to gather the information they needed. _

_Hopefully. _

_But things rarely went according to plan._

–

_As they drove, Sarah stared blankly out of her window. Eventually she turned to look at Skulduggery and asked; "What did the ninja-duo steal, anyway?"_

_Skulduggery tilted his head to the side, which was his version of arching an eyebrow._

"_I thought you had read the case file that I left on your desk."_

"_I glanced at it." Sarah shrugged._

"_That wasn't very professional of you." _

"_I'm not a detective any more, remember?"_

"_Ah. Good point."_

_Skulduggery paused for a moment as he formulated an answer. _

"_Firstly was a hilt about the length of your forearm. All very dull and boring until you press a button concealed in the pommel. Press that and you've got yourself a blade made entirely out of lightning."_

_Sarah managed a smirk. "I want one."_

"_Don't even think about it." Skulduggery chided mildly, but there was a smile in his voice. _

_Sarah's smirk turned into a grin._

"_Secondly," Skulduggery added. "Was a particularly old tome titled 'A Quest to Control the Skies'. Inside it tells of a powerful magical artefact that can supposedly be found only by using 'The Lightning Blade'."_

"_Mm. So the only reason they stole this Lightning Blade was to go after something altogether more powerful? And let me guess; the tome tells them how to do it."_

"_Correct."_

"_So what _is _this all-powerful artefact? It must be pretty impressive for these people to travel all the way from Japan to come and retrieve it."_

_Skulduggery hummed thoughtfully."This all powerful artefact takes the form of a hammer-"_

"_A _hammer? _Seriously?" Sarah snorted. "That's a little disappointing." _

_Skulduggery continued as if he had never been interrupted."-by the name of Mjolnir." _

"_...You _are _joking, right?"_

_Skulduggery turned to look at Sarah."Do I _look_ like I'm joking?"_

"_Is that a trick question?"_

"_Probably." _

_Sarah snorted. "Right. So, this super-secret organization of ninja are looking for a hammer that belongs to the Norse God of Thunder." She took a packet of cigarettes from her coat pocket and went about retrieving a lighter. "Next you'll be telling me there are a bunch of kick-ass Priests looking for a Holy-Hand-Grenade that Jesus kept stuffed in his robes."_

"_No smoking in the car." Skulduggery warned._

"_I'll roll down the window."_

"No _smoking, Sarah. Seriously."_

"_Fine. I'll roll down the window _and _use your skull as an ashtray." Sarah rolled down the window, but before she could light up, Skulduggery snapped his palm wide and the cigarette flew from her hand. It disappeared outside. Sarah scowled and crossed her arms in a grumpy fashion. After a few moments of awkward silence, Skulduggery started speaking again. _

"_Steering the conversation back towards Mjolnir; some people believe this particular magical hammer was named after the one from Norse mythology. Others believe it _is _the hammer from Norse mythology. But most people believe that it's actually just a fairy tale, not much different from the Sceptre of the Ancients."_

_Sarah, with her arms still crossed, remained grumpily silent. Skulduggery sighed. _

–

_Forty-five minutes later and Skulduggery's Randonnée pulled up in front of Kuro's house. It was a typical sorcerer get-up; all cracked bricks and broken windows. _

_Sarah walked ahead of Skulduggery, knocking on the front door before he could even get half way up the path. A good looking Japanese man with shoulder-length black hair answered the door. _

"_Who are you?" He asked, instantly suspicious of Sarah. "What do you want?"_

_Sarah didn't even bother with a smile. "My friend and I were hoping you could help us. We're looking for the sorcerers who broke into the Sanctuary last week."_

_A harsh little smile parted Kuro's lips. "Sure, I'll tell you where those bastards are." And he stepped aside to let the duo in. _

_Once she reached Kuro's living room, Sarah practically fell into one of the two cushy armchairs that were pushed against a wall. Skulduggery contended himself with leaning against a table._

"_We appreciate you helping us, Mr. Kumo." He started, and the other man nodded._

"_Yeah. Sure. Anything that will stop those idiots from carrying out their ridiculous plan."_

"_Just curious..." Sarah began, eyes roaming over two Japanese katana that were mounted on the wall. "But why do you hate them so much, _Cloud-_san?" _

_Kuro glared at her. "It's _Spider. _And I _hate_ them because they got my little brother _killed_. That's all you need to know." _

_Skulduggery dipped his head respectfully. "We're sorry for your loss."_

"_Not as sorry as I am." Kuro muttered. "But forget that now. I know where you can find the Yami Tsuki members who broke into the Sanctuary. They came to visit me not long after entering the country. Asked if I wanted in on their stupid little plot to steal some magical sword." He barked a harsh laugh. "Those idiots. As if I would, after everything that happened."_

_Sarah made a sound as if she were getting bored, and Kuro glared at her again. _

"_Of course." Skulduggery said quickly. "And is there anything you can tell us about their magical abilities? We generally like to know what we're going up against."_

"_We'd like to." Sarah muttered. "But we rarely do."_

_Slowly, Kuro tore his gaze away from Sarah. "There is." He nodded. "The man in charge of their little operation goes by the name of Shinigami Karasu. He has the ability to change his weight, and I'm sure he has other uses for it, but I remember him mainly using it for running across the top of water."_

_Sarah looked interested. "Running across water? Now that sounds like fun."_

_Kuro ignored her. "The other, a woman by the name of Hissori Yozora, is a little trickier. I knew Shinigami personally back from my time spent in the Yami Tsuki, but I had never met Hissori before. All I can tell you about her is that she uses magic to enhance her physical strength and agility. A basic technique for all ninja mages." _

_Shrugging, Sarah got to her feet. "Well that's all very useful, but can you tell us where they actually _are_?"_

"_You really are very impatient today, aren't you?" Skulduggery commented mildly._

_Sarah went to reply with some sarcastic comment or another, but a slight shimmer in the air distracted her. In the split second it took her to turn her head, an obviously feminine figure clad all in black, complete with balaclava, had appeared behind Kuro. Simply faded up out of nothing. _

_Before he could even think about moving, there was a flash of silver and the contents of Kuro's throat were sprayed all over the floor. His body slumped forwards._

_Sarah readied herself for a fight, nails growing and hardening, pupils contracting into slits, teeth elongating and coming to a stop at razor-sharp points. Skulduggery pulled out his gun and aimed it at the intruder. For a few seconds nobody moved. And then Sarah spoke. _

"_Well, I guess Yozora's ability is no longer a mystery." _

_And she launched herself at the ninja, hand pulled back and ready to strike. Hissori dodged with ease as Sarah swiped at her, deadly claws whistling overhead. Moving faster than the eye could see she struck out with her arm, fist connecting with Sarah's own outstretched arm. There was a crunch, and Sarah hissed in pain as that arm broke. _

_Skulduggery fired off a couple of shots at Hissori, but her lightning fast agility allowed her to simply side step and avoid the oncoming missiles. She crossed the room in a fraction of a second, palm coming up to smash into the underside of Skulduggery's jaw. He went flying backwards into a wall, gun hurtling from his grip. _

_Having recovered a little, Sarah sprinted over to Hissori with considerable speed of her own. The ninja was taken by surprise, and Sarah managed to get a punch in before she could leap back. _

_And that's when things started to go wrong. _

_Due to a combination of adrenaline and the jumble of anger and frustration she had finally released that day after keeping it bottled up for so long, Sarah charged recklessly towards Hissori. She hurled a punch with her good arm, but overshot it and went stumbling. The black-clad ninja stepped around her casually, producing a blade from nowhere and slipping it neatly between Sarah's ribs. Sarah immediately froze, looking numbly down at her torso where red had started to blossom on the lacking material of her shirt. She felt no pain, only cold, and as her vision started to fade, the room becoming further and further away, Sarah just knew the blade had touched her heart. She heard a muffled yell and what could have been gunshots, and then a window smashing._

_But she didn't care, instead closing her eyes, welcoming the consuming blackness of oblivion. _

"_Sarah!" Someone shouted, but it was a distant ringing in her ears."_Sarah!" _They persisted, and she frowned, blinking her eyes open. The world suddenly came into sharp focus, and she felt a pain that was like a thousand shards of glass sticking into her chest. She gasped, gagging on a mouthful of blood. _

"_Sarah!"_

_Sarah looked around. She was lying on the floor, the ninja gone, and Skulduggery was kneeling beside her. "T-take it out.." She managed to choke, moving her arm across her torso, fingers curling around the hilt of the knife that was sticking from her chest. _

_Skulduggery gently pried Sarah's fingers free from the hilt and lowered her arm to the floor._

"_Don't move, Sarah. I'll get you to Kenspeckle. You're going to be fine." He reassured her._

_Sarah gurgled a laugh and a wave of pain crackled across her chest. "You're a...a terrible liar, Skulduggery."_

"_No, I'm not. I'm a fantastic liar. The best of the best."_

_He got a blood-stained grin in return. "Ha ha."_

"_Hush now. I'll take you to Kenspeckle and he'll fix you up." He lifted Sarah from the floor as carefully as he could and headed out into the hall. "Grouse has his own laboratory and medical facility now. I bet he's feeling very smug about that." Skulduggery babbled. "It's concealed in the Hibernian theatre. You know, the one that closed down last year."There was a pause. "...Did you know that blue is my favourite colour? I like blue. It's a nice, sensible colour."_

_Sarah chuckled weakly. _

"_You don't have to do that, Skulduggery."_

"_Do what?"_

"_Talk about nonsense to distract me from the, you know, the knife sticking out of my chest."_

"_Actually, I was doing it to distract _myself_ from the knife sticking out of your chest."_

_Sarah chuckled again and ended up spewing blood all over herself._

"_D-damn.."_

"_Stop talking." Skulduggery ordered. _

"_Yessir."_

_Skulduggery exited Kuro's house and, as he carried Sarah over to the car, she felt her vision slipping. The pain started to recede again and no matter what Skulduggery said, she knew whatever attempt he made to save her life would be futile. "I know I got mad with you, Skulduggery," she started, looking up at his impassive skull. "But I don't hate you."_

_Skulduggery tilted his head down a fraction. "Sarah, y-" But he stopped when he saw the distant look in her eyes and the dreamy little smile on her face."Oh no you don't. Focus, Sarah. Look at me." Her eyelids fluttered and then closed. "Sarah?" Skulduggery stopped walking. "_Sarah!_"_

_But she was already gone._

–

_Sarah had expected nothing after death. Pure, pitch black nothingness._

_What she didn't expect, however, was the giant mirror that stood before her now. _

_She looked around; wherever she was, it was completely shrouded in shadow. The only visible things were the mirror and herself. Not knowing what else to do, Sarah approached the reflective glass, noting her body had no feeling. The figure that copied her movements in the mirror was not her own. Her gaze was instantly drawn to the eyes of this strange reflection, but she vaguely remembered a glimpse of porcelain-white skin and hair that was ridiculously long and black as sin._

_The eyes, though..._

_They were a bright, glittering crimson, the pupils slitted. Sarah found she couldn't tear her gaze away; these eyes consumed her whole. They were all that existed._

_She didn't know how much time passed. It could have been minutes, hours, days, weeks or even _years_. But when Sarah was finally released from the power those terrible eyes had over her, she suddenly felt empty. The figure in the mirror was smiling, one palm pressed against the glass, even though Sarah herself hadn't moved an inch. When she remained where she was, the reflection nodded its head slowly, as if to encourage her. Eyes wide, she shuffled a little closer, arm reaching out. _

_The moment her hand made contact, there was a blinding flash of light and the mirror disappeared. Sarah screwed her eyes shut to shield herself against the glare. _

_And then a sound. Quiet at first, and slow. But after a while it became louder, the pace quickening. Sarah recognised the sound. It was the sound of a beating heart. _Her _beating heart. _

_Slowly, oh so slowly, she opened her eyes and was met by the sight of a red tie and a skeletal neck. Feeling rushed back into Sarah's body, and she became aware of something that had a vice-like grip around her shoulders. With a jolt she realised that Skulduggery was holding her in his arms._

_Skulduggery, who believed her to be dead._

_She remained there for a moment, unmoving in his arms. **So he does care after all**, Sarah thought with an inward sigh. _

_And then she remembered how she needed to breathe._

_The pain from her knife wound had somehow disappeared, but a burning in her chest still persisted, caused by lack of air. Almost laughing despite herself, Sarah sucked in a huge breath, instantly feeling much better. Skulduggery, who never even so much as flinched, almost jumped a mile in the air. He released his grip on her, reeling off an impressive list of curses, and Sarah waited patiently for him to finish with a grin on her face._

"_Sarah!" Skulduggery practically shouted once he had finished. "That was- that's just- well...that's really not fair, is it?" _

"_Aww, did I make you worry?" Sarah cooed mockingly. _

"_I- Of course not. You're just too stubborn to stay dead, aren't you?" _

"_Admit it. You were upset." Sarah purred. " In fact, I think I see a tear. Right there, in the corner of your eye socket."_

_Skulduggery stared at her. "You are a cruel, cruel person."_

"_Yes, I am."_

"_A wonderfully, gloriously cruel person." He wrapped his bony arms around her again, hugging her tightly. Sarah smiled and returned the hug._

–

_Even after everything that had just occurred, Sarah wanted to continue pursuing the ninja duo. _

_Skulduggery would have none of it. He told her firmly that he was taking her to see Kenspeckle, and that was that. Sarah protested, but lost the argument when he brought up the fact she had been _stabbed in the heart _and had _died_._

_But that didn't stop her complaining about it on the drive over. _

"_I feel fine now, though." Sarah declared, pulling her top down so Skulduggery could see the now unmarked patch of skin just beneath her heart where she had been stabbed._

"_I really didn't need to see that, Sarah." Skulduggery told her, cocking his head to the side._

"_Seriously Skulduggery?_ Seriously_?This is the one time I'm actually _not _being a pervert."_

"_I find that hard to believe." _

"_...Alright, so I am. But I can't help it. I was just born this way."Sarah pulled her top back up._

"_I still think we should go after Hissori, though..." She grumbled._

–

_They arrived at the Hibernian just over an hour later, and Skulduggery guided Sarah through the abandoned theatre, all the way down to the stage. The image of a brick wall with an open door was projected onto the screen, and Sarah watched as Skulduggery simply passed through it. _

_Still thinking that seeing Kenspeckle was a completely pointless thing to do, she grumbled and followed._

_After waiting in the medical bay for a little while, Sarah and Skulduggery watched a grumpy looking Kenspeckle Grouse come shuffling in, muttering something like, "...only had this medical bay five bloody minutes, and already there are _two_ of them.."_

"_Hello, Kenspeckle." Sarah smiled._

"_Yes, yes. Hello Sarah." The elderly mage sighed, his expression softening. "What is it you've done today?" He spotted the blood staining Sarah's shirt, and his eyebrows flew up. "You were stabbed." He stated._

"_Indeed I was."  
"In the heart." _

"_That's the one."_

"_And she died." Skulduggery pointed out, but Kenspeckle glared at him. _

"_Don't be ridiculous." He snapped, walking over to Sarah and looking her over. After a moment his eyes narrowed. "Is this a joke? There isn't a mark on you."_

_Skulduggery stepped a little closer. "No Kenspeckle, it is not a joke. Sarah was stabbed in the heart a little over an hour ago. I watched her die."_

_Kenspeckle frowned, and Skulduggery added; "She died in my arms."_

_He examined the skeleton's impassive features for a moment, and eventually decided Skulduggery had sounded quite serious. "Well now..." He breathed, looking interested all of a sudden. _

_Sarah turned to look at Skulduggery, one eyebrow raised. "You _do _realise we're going to have to explain everything to him now?"_

"_Explain?" Kenspeckle asked, looking between them both with an irritated expression on his face."Explain what?"_

"_Ah." Skulduggery said._

"_That just about sums it up." Sarah agreed happily. _

–

_Ten minutes later and Skulduggery had just finished filling Kenspeckle in on the basics._

_With each minute that passed, his face had become a little paler. There was a silence then, when Skulduggery stopped speaking, but eventually Kenspeckle turned to look at Sarah._

"_So you were a-"_

"_I was."_

"_But now you are a-"_

"_I am."_

_He shuffled uneasily on the spot. It was no great secret that Kenspeckle Grouse had a mortal fear of vampires, and he had just been told he was standing in the same room as the oldest and most powerful of them all."But you are absolutely _certain _that you are human now?" He checked._

"_Well, I _was_. And then I got stabbed in the heart, died, woke up again and just shrugged it off like it was nothing." Sarah replied. "I don't know about you, but I think that something is _clearly_ not right here."_

_Kenspeckle closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, taking a few seconds to compose himself. When he opened his eyes again, they were hard and determined. "Right." He turned to look at Skulduggery. "You. Out."_

"_But-"_

"Now_."_

_Skulduggery paused, shrugged, and then left the room. _

_Kenspeckle turned back to look at Sarah. "I would like you to tell me everything you experienced, from the very moment you were stabbed, right up until the moment you woke again."_

_Sarah thought about her answer for a moment, and then told Kenspeckle all about her strange experience; about the circumstances leading up to Hissori stabbing her, about slowly drifting away, only to be rudely dragged back by Skulduggery again. She told him about the skeleton detective taking her outside, and then dying before they could even reach the car. Next came the absence of feeling throughout her body and the mysterious dark room, and even more mysterious giant mirror. The figure she had seen reflected in the mirror. The pale skin and long, dark hair. And the eyes. The eyes that burned like a thousand suns, full of fire and rage and pain._

_Lastly came her little interaction with this figure, which resulted in a blast of blinding white light and Sarah waking up in the land of the living once again._

_Kenspeckle was silent for a moment as he absorbed this information. _

"_Well..." He began eventually. "I have never come face to face with the vampire known as Sarah, the vampire that _you _used to be, but more than one person has told me about her." _

_He looked up at Sarah. "And I think it's safe to say the reflection you saw in the mirror took on her form. The way you described her appearance to me is precisely how _other_ people and books have described her to me."_

_Sarah nodded. "I gathered as much."_

"_Now, vampires aren't known for possessing any real magic other than their unnatural strength and agility, but you were the one supposed exception. I can assume that your magic remained with you as you passed from one body to the other, and has lain dormant up until now."_

"_Ah. So this would be the magic that healed me, then." Sarah stated more than asked._

"_Indeed." _

_Sarah hopped down from the bed she had been sitting on and turned to look at Kenspeckle. "So this reflection that I saw...this other person..." She cocked an eyebrow._

"_Don't tell me she was my alter-ego, and I suffer from multiple personality disorder? That would be just typical, the way my luck has been going."_

_Kenspeckle allowed himself a little chuckle. "Not at all, not at all. Of course, I don't know for certain, but you can be fairly confident in my educated guess."_

"_I trust your brilliant mind, Kenspeckle."Sarah grinned._

"_Well, that goes without saying." He stated, and Sarah laughed. _

"_So what exactly _is _your educated guess? Because if I had to guess myself, I would say the reflection was actually an embodiment of my own magic."_

_Kenspeckle frowned at her. "You know, sometimes I forget you actually have a decent brain in between your ears." He sighed, but there was a smile on his face. "That was the conclusion you had arrived at from the start, wasn't it? Before you even came to see me."_

_Sarah smiled innocently. "Of course not, Professor. Whatever made you think that?"_

_Kenspeckle sighed again and shook his head. "Well, if you figured out what the reflection was, then you have no doubt figured out that it will, mostly likely, never allow you to die."_

_Sarah hummed in agreement. "Unless I happen across my original body, which may or may not still exist." She finished. _

"_Exactly."_

"_Hm. I guess this regenerative ability explains how damn hard it is for me to get drunk..." She muttered quietly to herself. "I suppose I'll have to try harder next time." A grin as she fished a packet of cigarettes and a lighter out of her pocket._

"_Quite." Kenspeckle arched an eyebrow. "But, getting back to the point, as great as this power may seem, you must be careful not to let it consume you. There's no telling what would happen. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps the destruction of the world as we know it." He clapped his hands together. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have other, more important matters to attend to." Kenspeckle made for the door."Do tell me if anything else happens. I would be interested to know." He called back._

"_I will." Sarah promised. _

"_And no smoking in the medical bay."_

_Sarah grumbled, pocketing her cigarettes and lighter as Kenspeckle disappeared from sight. _

–

_The moment Sarah stepped through the door, Skulduggery rounded on her."Well?  
"Well what?" _

"_I take it everything is in order?" _

"_Of course. I'm perfectly fine. You know Kenspeckle would never have allowed me to leave if he didn't think so."_

_Skulduggery nodded, agreeing silently. "And what was his opinion on the matter?"  
"That my funky vampire magic brought me back from the dead."_

"_I thought as much." _

"_Me too." _

_There was a pause._

"_...Can we go after the ninja now?" _

_Skulduggery sighed._

–

_With no other lead to go on, Sarah and Skulduggery made their way back to Kuro's house. _

_It was exactly the way they had left it, with the front door slightly ajar and the ex Yami Tsuki member's body still slumped over on the living room floor._

_Sarah knelt down and examined the wound across Kuro's throat. It was quick, clean, and effective._

_Professional._

"_So one of these ninja can turn invisible," she began. "And the other can become so light he can run on water. I guess that rules out footprints, then. At least on his part."_

_Skulduggery nodded, peering out the window Hissori had smashed through to make her escape. "Tracking these people down is going to be harder than I thought." He muttered._

"_What, are you giving up?" Sarah teased. _

"_Of course not. One of them stabbed you in the heart, for God's sake."_

"And_ broke into the Sanctuary, stealing a powerful magical artefact."_

"_Yes, that too."_

_Sarah smirked and Skulduggery looked at her._

"_...What?"_

"_Oh, nothing. I just think it's cute how you're so determined to avenge my not-so-permanent death."Skulduggery went to reply, but Sarah spoke before he could."And don't try to tell me this isn't about revenge. Because that's precisely what it is."_

"_But it's _not _about revenge. It's about justice." Skulduggery persisted._

"_Nope. Revenge."_

"_Justice."_

"_Revenge."_

"_I'm not getting into another one of these arguments with you, Sarah."_

"_Why not?"_

_There was a pause."..You're a really hard person to get along with, do you know that?"_

_"Yeah. I love you too."_

_Skulduggery shook his head, muttering, and turned back to the window._

_They searched the house for an hour, looking for any kind of clue that would help them find Shinigami and Hissori's secret hideout. After coming up completely empty, Sarah slumped down on the floor in front of an armchair right next to the spot where she had collapsed earlier that morning. She stared at the blood that had started to dry there, her mind wandering back to the giant mirror._

_Sarah recalled the figure that had been reflected in it, tall, slender and pale. She thought about the glowing red eyes, getting lost in the mere memory of them. _

_And as she thought about those terrible red eyes, a strange feeling bloomed in her own._

_They ached at first, and as she blinked rapidly to try and dispel this, a sudden jolt of pain shot right through her skull. She fell sideways with a little yelp, and Skulduggery, who was upstairs, didn't seem to hear. _

_Having screwed her eyes shut against the sudden flare of pain, Sarah slowly sat up and opened them again. The world around her seemed to sharpen as she watched, every little detail springing out. Whatever parts of the room that had previously been hidden by shadows, were now clearly visible, as if someone had shone a floodlight on them. The tiniest dents and nicks in the two katana mounted on the wall became easily distinguishable, even though Sarah was sitting at the other side of the room. _

_When she looked down, a multitude of glowing red footprints became visible on the floor._

_There were some leading straight over to the window and some leading over to where she now sat, while others in the middle of the room were jumbled and overlapped. _

_Sarah suddenly realised these footprints belonged to herself and Skulduggery, and Kuro and Hissori. _

_She got to her feet, looking down curiously at the several glowing trails that criss-crossed before her. "Well, at least we have a lead to follow now." She declared, talking to no-one in particular and making her way over to a mirror at the far end of the room. _

_Her eyes felt different, and she was curious to know if they looked any different too._

_And as Sarah peered at the reflective glass, she noticed that yes, her eyes were indeed different. They were slitted, the way she sometimes liked to make them using her Adept magic. But that was usually just for show. This time they had an actual function, and the normal emerald green of her eyes had disappeared, to be replaced by a startling crimson._

"_That's just like..." She muttered, frowning. _

_It appeared that, ever since her resurrection, Sarah's vampire-magic had decided to stick around. _

"_What's wrong?" Skulduggery asked, walking into the room. "Did you find anything?"_

_Sarah stared at herself in the mirror for a moment longer, and then slowly turned around to face him. "You could say that."_

_Skulduggery cocked his head to the side. "Hm. Interesting."_

"_Uh-huh."_

"_Your eyes are red."_

"_Yes, they are."_

"_And rather ominous looking."_

"_Absolutely terrifying."_

"_Would you like to explain?"_

"_No."_

"_I see."_

"_Good to know your eyes work."_

"_I don't have any eyes."_

"_I know."_

"_Then what was that?"_

"_A skull joke."_

"_What's a skull joke?"_

"_I have no idea."_

_Skulduggery stared at her for a moment. "Right. Can we perhaps move on from this nonsensical conversation?"_

"_Sure." Sarah smirked. "Oh, and we can follow Hissori's trail." She pointed to her eyes. "I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I can see her footprints."_

"_That's handy. Are you going to tell me how it happened now?"_

"_You're the Detective. You work it out."_

_Skulduggery thought about it."...Your vampire-magic decided to put in another appearance." He stated after a few seconds._

"_See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Sarah chirped happily, skipping over to the door and out into the hall. Skulduggery shook his head and walked after her._

–

_They followed the glowing trail of footprints in the car, Sarah with her head sticking out of a rolled down window, calling back instructions to Skulduggery on occasion when the trail changed direction. It led them out of the city and down winding dirt tracks, secluded by trees. It was a lot like the route to Sarah's house. Out of the way. Unnoticeable, unless you knew where to look. _

_Eventually they had to abandon the car and continue on foot. _

_As they walked across a small field and into a cluster of trees, Sarah spoke. _

"_So...the last time we faced one of these ninja, you got hurled into a wall and I got killed. How well do you think we're gonna hold up against _two_ of them?"_

"_Well, we have the element of surprise this time round."_

"_They're _ninja_." _

"_Yes, but you have your magical, glowy eyes. That has to count for something."_

"_We're going to die." Sarah declared._

"_I'm already dead, and you _can't _die."_

"_It doesn't matter."_

"_Let's not lose all hope just yet." Skulduggery held a gloved hand out in front of him as they walked."On one hand, these Yami Tsuki people have the advantage over us; they're generally stronger, faster and sneakier." He held out his remaining hand. "But on the _other _hand, I have different fingers."_

_Sarah snorted. "Yup. We're going to die."_

–

_The glowing footprints lead Sarah and Skulduggery through several miles of forest, along a river, over a large hill and eventually came to stop just outside a cluster of ruins. _

_They looked to be the remains of a church; some of the steepled roof still remained in tact._

"_Creepy church ruins. Could this thing get any more clichéd?" Sarah muttered, walking across the threshold. Grass grew through cracks in the floor, and ivy wound its way around the crumbling stone pews. _

_After doing a customary sweep of the building, Skulduggery declared there was absolutely no sign of any activity, by ninja or otherwise. Sarah walked back over to where the footprints stopped, just before the door, and crouched to look. There was a small, circular hole in the slab before it._

"_Skulduggery." She called, and he walked over. "Look." _

_He crouched down next to her and looked at the slab. "Hmm. This could very well be the entrance to their super-secret-ninja-hideout."_

"_And now we have to figure out how to open it." Sarah stated."I suppose blasting it open probably won't work?" _

"_Probably not."_

"_Then I guess we should look around for some sort of key." _

_Skulduggery walked off to do just that._

_As Skulduggery searched the ruins for a key, Sarah remained kneeling on the floor. She ran a single finger across the small hole in the slab, noting that it was just big enough to fit a single digit in. Wherever this key was, it was thin and cylindrical. _

"_Perhaps we don't need a key after all..." She muttered to herself, sliding an index finger into the opening. When she met no resistance, Sarah used her magic to grow the nail on that one particular finger. At several inches it eventually came into contact with a solid surface, and there was a faint 'click' as it gave way. The slab in front of her slid back to reveal a stone chute leading deep underground. Skulduggery turned to look, and Sarah gave a satisfied little smirk. _

"_You can stop looking for the key now." She called mockingly, and Skulduggery strolled over._

"_I'm the Detective here," he grumbled childishly. " Please stop doing my job for me."_

_Sarah grinned and leapt upright. Before Skulduggery could say anything, she had yelled, '"Geronimo!"' and jumped feet first into the chute. _

–

_After sliding about twenty metres down the chute, Sarah was dumped unceremoniously onto the cold and unforgiving floor of a circular chamber. Several torches flickered in brackets on the walls in an attempt to chase away the gloom, but Sarah had no use for them. Her modified eyes allowed her to see quite clearly. As if it were day. _

_Using an elbow to prop herself up, she looked around. The majority of the wall was covered by row after row of human skulls. Tilting her head to the side, she realised she must be in some kind of catacombs. _

"_Look out below." A muffled voice called, and Sarah recognised it as Skulduggery's immediately._

"_Oh, hell."She barely had time to say, before the skeleton detective came hurtling from the chute. His feet collided with Sarah's back, and all of the breath was knocked from her lungs. Skulduggery pitched forward and landed in a heap a few feet ahead. "Well, that wasn't very dignified." He muttered, picking himself off the floor and brushing the dust from his suit. _

"_And not to mention painful." Sarah choked out, still recovering._

_Skulduggery stopped brushing himself off and turned to look at her."Well, I _did _say look out below."_

"_Yeah, but you could have slowed yourself down at least. Are you an Elemental or aren't you?" _

"_I thought you would have had the sense to move." Skulduggery stated, and Sarah lashed out a kick, hooking her foot around his ankle. She jerked, and Skulduggery fell into a heap on the ground once again. "That was a very childish thing to do, you know."He grunted, forcing himself into a sitting position. _

"_Then I guess we're even."_

_Once they had recovered from their little tumble down the chute and everything that had followed, Sarah and Skulduggery started looking around. With nothing more interesting than skulls in the circular room, they quickly moved onto the next one. Even more skulls lined the walls of this larger room, but Sarah ignored them and instead followed the glowing red footprints that had reappeared on the floor. _

_Eventually these footprints came out into a long, narrow corridor. Strange carvings decorated the walls, depicting one man holding what appeared to be a blade made out of lightning. Another held a large, open book high up into the air. Stormy clouds were parted overhead, and in the midst of several forks of lightning was a slightly square-ish looking hammer._

"_So that's Mjolnir." Sarah commented mildly, eyes roaming over the image. _

"_It would appear so." _

"_Huh. It doesn't look like much."_

"_Usually, the most unassuming things turn out to be the most interesting."_

"_I guess that rules you out, then." Sarah teased._

"_I'm not sure whether to feel flattered or offended."_

"_Why not both?" Sarah hummed happily._

–

_Sarah and Skulduggery walked for what seemed like miles, following the glowing footprints through a maze of interlinking chambers and corridors, plenty of skulls and carvings in both._

_Just as Sarah was starting to get particularly bored and irritated, they arrived at a short path that lead towards a tall, stone door. Despite the obvious thickness of the door, she could hear voices coming from the other side. Voices belonging to three people. Not two._

_Turning to look at Skulduggery, she arched an eyebrow. He nodded and then crept over to one side of the door, Sarah walking over to the other, both palms pressed flat against the cold stone. After a silently agreed count of three, they both heaved. _

_Sarah was surprised to find she could push this heavy door with ease, whereas Skulduggery grunted with the effort. Shrugging inwardly, she continued to push, and the door slowly creaked open. _

_The voices ceased immediately and after a few more seconds of pushing, Sarah and Skulduggery stopped. Before Sarah cold lower her hands from the door, someone grabbed ahold of her wrist and pulled her into the room beyond. She glimpsed a dark-haired figure in a dark coat slip down a small tunnel to her left. _

_And then she was met by two black-clad ninja, Hissori being the one who had dragged her inside. "Ah. I still owe you for earlier." Sarah told her cheerfully. _

"_You see me?" Hissori snapped. "How do you see me?" _

"_I guess your little invisibility trick doesn't work on me any more." Sarah grinned, tapping a finger against the skin just beneath one red eye. _

_Hissori narrowed her eyes through the gap in her balaclava, and there was a slight shimmer as she supposedly regained visibility. "How are you alive? I stabbed you in the heart. I am sure of it."_

"_That you did, little miss ninja. But it's gonna take a lot more than that to finish me off~."_

_And Sarah lunged at her, faster than even she thought possible. Hissori yelped in surprise as a claw-tipped hand swiped across her face, cutting a deep gash in her cheek. _

_Shinigami hissed and moved in close to Sarah, aiming an elbow at her gut. She leant back almost casually, avoiding the blow with ease. Recovering herself a little, Hissori made to kick Sarah, but Skulduggery appeared out of nowhere and came charging into her, knocking her off balance. They both went tumbling to the ground. _

_Leaving Skulduggery to deal with Hissori, Sarah instead focused all her attention on Shinigami. A malicious little grin had plastered itself across her face, and her red eyes shone in the gloom._

_She ran towards him, ducking under the arm he swung at her and punched him in the jaw. _

_It felt like hitting paper. There was practically no substance to him. And then Sarah remembered about his little weight-altering trick. Still grinning, she reached inside her coat and pulled a dagger from a pocket concealed in the lining. She slashed it through the air with such force, the blade whistled. Shinigami may have been a ninja with lightning-fast reflexes, but after her little brush with death, Sarah was faster. At first nothing appeared to happen. In fact, Sarah had already put the dagger away again. But after a few seconds had passed, a spurt of blood erupted from Shinigami's throat, along with the deep cut that Sarah had made there. He clutched at the wound frantically in an attempt to stem the flow of blood, but it was futile. His eyes bugged out of his head he collapsed on the floor, a horrible gurgling sound coming from his throat. _

_Sarah smiled down at his corpse, her eyes alight with a cruel pleasure. _

_Eventually she turned to look over at Skulduggery, who was being knocked around like a punch bag. He tried to block, arms held up in front of his skull, but it was almost as if he didn't even know where the attacks were coming from. Hissori had turned herself invisible again, and even if Skulduggery was reading the air for disturbances, the ninja moved way too fast for him to keep up. _

_But Sarah could see her._

_She dashed across the room in the blink of an eye, and Hissori barely had time to react before a dagger came hurtling at her. She cried out in alarm and ducked, the blade slashing through the top of her balaclava. Glaring at Sarah again she grabbed her ruined disguise and pulled it free, throwing it to the ground. She was pretty, but in an average sort of way. She had cropped black hair and three noticeable scars that looked as if something big had raked its claws across her face. Her dark brown eyes were fixed on Sarah's glowing red ones._

_Sarah grinned and stepped to the side, giving her full view of Shinigami's body._

_Hissori screeched loudly and flew at her, all rational thought gone. She tried for a jab to the head, but Sarah blocked and lashed out a kick. The kick connected with her chest and she went flying across the room._

_Sarah strolled over to Skulduggery, who was in the process of picking himself up off the floor._

_She held out a hand to him and when he took it, pulled him into a standing position. _

"_That was easier than I thought it would be." Sarah commented._

"_Speak for yourself." He grunted, and brushed the dust from his suit again. "Karasu?"  
"Dead." _

"_Ah. And Yozora?"_

"_Well-" Sarah turned to look in the direction that she had kicked Hissori, and was met by a blunt object in the face. She went stumbling back. Skulduggery whipped his head round just in time to see a blade made entirely of lightning crackle into existence from the hilt that Hissori was holding. There was a psychotic glint in her eye, and her teeth were bared like an animal._

"_I'll kill you." She hissed. "For Shinigami!" And she swung the Lightning Blade at Sarah's neck. _

_Skulduggery yelled something and went to stop her, but Sarah moved fast. The blade crackled above her head and she struck out an arm, clamping her hand around Hissori's own. _

_Hissori screamed in frustration and tried to pull the blade free, but Sarah was too strong. She tightened her grip until Hissori's knuckles cracked painfully and she shrieked, dropping the Lightning Blade on the floor. _

_But Hissori didn't bother to try and retrieve it. Instead she ran for the door, clutching at her injured hand. _

_Sarah watched her run out of the room and then bent down to pick up the blade. She handed it to Skulduggery, he pressed the button concealed in the pommel and the lightning instantly receded. _

_He looked down at the hilt in his hand and after a slight pause, echoed Sarah's earlier words; "That was easier than I thought it would be."_

_Sarah laughed._

–

_Now that the fight had concluded, Sarah and Skulduggery were free to look around the room. It was triangular in shape, and an elevated platform resided at the centre. This platform was circular, and had a slot in the stone that was the precise shape of the Lightning Blade. A dusty old tome the size of a small gravestone lay open next to it._

_One wall of the room was completely blank save for a small tunnel, and the other held a door, although it was nothing like the one Sarah and Skulduggery had come through. Complex mechanisms and strange symbols decorated it and certain parts of the door could be interacted with, almost as if it were one great big puzzle. At its heart was a carving of Mjolnir, several perfectly straight lines carved into the stone leading away from it and carrying on around the frame. A similar line was carved into the floor of the platform at the centre of the room, which trailed all the way over to the base of the door. _

_Sarah examined the door, running her fingers along the grooves and pressing parts of the stone that would move, while Skulduggery sat on the platform studying the tome. After a while he snapped the heavy volume shut, dust flying up into the air. "Well, according to the book, there is an extremely precise way to open up that door. It involves solving several puzzles, which should be absolutely no problem for someone of my intellectual capacity."_

"_But..." Sarah muttered quietly. _

"But_," Skulduggery continued. "That isn't why we are here. We have the blade and the tome, which means we can return them to the Sanctuary immediately. Where they will be safe."_

"_Until a couple more ninja decide they want to have a go at swinging Thor's hammer around."_

"_Well...yes. But that's besides the point." Skulduggery stood up and heaved the tome into his arms. "We had a job to do, and now that job is complete. Mission accomplished."_

"_Mission accomplished." Sarah repeated without enthusiasm, looking a little disappointed._

–

_Sarah followed Hissori's glowing footprints, the Lightning Blade in her hand, and eventually she and Skulduggery came to a set of stairs. They followed them all the way up to the surface and emerged from a secret door in the church ruins. The sun had long since gone down and the moonlight was shining through a gap in the roof. _

"_Do you need a hand with that?" Sarah smirked, glancing back at Skulduggery, who was clearly struggling with the awkwardly large and heavy tome in his arms. _

"_Do I look like I need help?"_

"_Yes. Yes you do."_

"_Oh. Then I could probably use a hand after all."_

_Grinning, Sarah stuck the Lightning Blade in her pocket and walked over to help Skulduggery._

_She was just about wrap her arms around one end of the tome when a black shape came flying out of nowhere, knocking her to the ground. Sarah looked up to see Hissori's crazed features staring down at her, bathed in moonlight. "I killed you once, I can do it again." She hissed, grabbing the dagger from Sarah's inside coat pocket. Sarah rolled over to avoid the flashing blade, and Hissori kicked out with her leg. Instead of hitting Sarah, she struck the remains of a stone pew that was balanced precariously against one wall. It slid down, landing on top of Sarah's arm and trapping it. _

_She cried out in pain and her magic quickly healed the damage, but it didn't change the fact that her arm was still stuck. Skulduggery, who had finally managed to put the heavy tome down, came charging over, a flame sparking in his hand. Laughing maniacally, Hissori ran at him head on, her arms flapping behind her. Skulduggery hurled a fireball in her direction, but she dodged with ease and punched him square in the chest. Much like their previous encounter, he went flying backwards, through a wall this time. _

_Satisfied, Hissori relaxed her fighting stance and walked back over to Sarah, who was still struggling to release herself from the stone pew. "It's just you and me now." She purred, looking quite insane as she lifted Sarah's dagger to her lips and licked the blade. _

_Sarah swiped at her with a clawed hand, but Hissori dodged the attack and knelt down on the offending limb, pinning it to the floor. With both arms trapped, Sarah could only watch as Hissori brought the knife down and plunged it into her heart for the second time that day._

_But she felt no pain, and her vision remained as sharp as ever. In fact, Sarah felt stronger. _

_She felt the magic pouring into her limbs, dancing around her heart, pushing the blade out as it already set to work on healing it. Hissori must have noticed this because she reeled backwards, eyes wide. "Wh-what the hell are you?!" _

_Sarah grinned. She couldn't help it. All of this power felt so good. _

_The pew that trapped her arm cracked and crumbled, and cracks started appearing in the floor too._

_Walls shook and large chunks of stone crashed to the ground as the ruined church groaned in protest. Sarah was on her feet now, eyes radiating magic. She grabbed the hilt of the dagger that was protruding from her chest and yanked it out, the wound sealing closed behind it. _

_Hissori screamed and ran, but Sarah held out her arm, one finger raised. The ninja stopped dead in her tracks. Her body heaved a single great shudder and then her heart exploded outwards, spraying the wall with blood. Hissori's ruined corpse fell to the floor._

_Skulduggery emerged from the hole in the wall and looked around, trying to see what was going on._

_He spotted Sarah just in time to see her casually pull a dagger from her chest, and then make a gesture similar to Serpine and his red right hand. When Hissori's heart burst like a ripe tomato, Skulduggery retracted that comparison with a quiet "Oh." _

_The church shook more violently now, and bigger chunks started falling from the ceiling. He dodged to avoid one and made his way over to Sarah. "Sarah!" He called, side-stepping another piece of falling debris._

_Sarah turned to look at Skulduggery, but there was no recognition in her eyes. Power had consumed her completely._

"_Oh, this can't be good." Skulduggery muttered, backing away slowly as she approached him._

"_Sarah."He tried again, however futile the attempt. "You can control this, I know you can. Just concentrate." But Sarah continued to approach him, her hair rippling with the sheer power she was emitting. She held out a hand, and Skulduggery felt one of his ribs break._

_He grunted and took another step back. The church was just about ready to collapse._

"_Time to go, I think." He declared, turning and making a dash for the exit._

–

_Several seconds later and the church collapsed. Sarah emerged from the mess without a single scratch on her and proceeded to follow after Skulduggery, who had started running back in the general direction of his car. _

_No matter how fast Skulduggery ran, Sarah was never very far behind. He ran flat out to the Randonnée, having of course no muscles to tire. His hand was just reaching out for the handle on the driver's side when Sarah appeared behind him. The handle buckled and crumpled and then the entire car, as if a great amount of pressure had been applied. _

_Cursing, Skulduggery whirled to face her, fist flying through the air. Sarah dodged the punch with little apparent effort and struck out with frightening speed, her arm smashing into the side of Skulduggery's head. He crashed into a clump of trees with such force that one of them was uprooted completely. Groaning, it took several minutes for him to get back on his feet. _

_Having decided that hitting Sarah probably wasn't such a good idea, Skulduggery tried a little magic next. He conjured a flame in each hand and threw them straight at her. _

_Sarah moved so fast it appeared she had simply vanished. Skulduggery turned around slowly on the spot, looking out for any sign of where she would attack from next. Everything was eerily quiet. _

_Even the crickets had stopped chirping. _

_And then Sarah reappeared right next to Skulduggery's shoulder. She grabbed his arm and he instantly felt his power drain away. He tried to spark a flame in his hand, but the magic wouldn't obey him._

"_Damn." Skulduggery muttered, and instead went for his gun. _

_Clamping a gloved hand around Sarah's wrist, he fired all six bullets from their chambers, and all six bullets hit home. Sarah didn't bother to dodge them. But even as the small projectiles tore their way through her body, the flesh instantly closed up behind them, leaving not a mark or sign as they appeared on the other side. _

"_Oh." Was all Skulduggery said._

_And then a shout came from somewhere amongst the trees._

_A young couple who had been out walking their dog emerged into the clearing. _

_Skulduggery's fleshless skull was still mostly concealed behind his hat and scarf, but the smoking gun in his hand was unmissable. _

"_What are you doing?" The man demanded of Skulduggery, making his way over despite the woman's protests. The dog started barking. "Leave her alone!" _

"_Ah." Skulduggery put the gun away and turned to face the approaching man. "Stay where you are!" He called, but the man wouldn't listen. Sarah tilted her head to the side curiously, and the man's chest exploded, even as he ran. The woman screamed and the dog disappeared into the trees. _

"_You killed him! Oh my god, you killed him!" And she started to cry. _

_Her face an emotionless mask, Sarah tore her wrist free from Skulduggery's grip and started walking towards the woman. Skulduggery instantly felt his magic return to him._

"_Stop, Sarah!" He called, and snapped both palms open wide. Sarah was jerked off her feet and sent crashing into a tree. The woman shrieked, but didn't run. She was petrified. _

"_Get out of here!" Skulduggery ordered, running over. But still she wouldn't move. _

"_Wh-what's happening?" She sobbed. "Who are you people? Oh god- He's _dead_!" _

_Skulduggery turned to her. "Listen to me. You have to leave here immediately. Your life is in danger." His scarf had fallen down his jaw by now, and the woman could see what he really was._

"_Y-you're a-"_

"_Go!" Skulduggery barked, and the woman nodded hesitantly, eyes wide and scared. _

_She was just about to turn and leave when a fist erupted from her chest, spraying Skulduggery with blood. The fist was clutching the woman's heart, which still beat, however feebly. The fingers uncurled and it fell to the floor with a wet 'slap'. _

_Sarah, for of course it was she, retracted her hand slowly, the woman's insides squelching. With nothing to hold her up any more, the woman simply collapsed to the floor, much like a marionette with cut strings._

"_Sarah!" Skulduggery roared and charged into her, knocking them both to the ground. _

_The duo tumbled along for several feet, and when they finally came to a halt, Sarah pushed her claw-tipped fingers through the material in Skulduggery's suit. He froze, and then cried out in pain as Sarah curled her digits around his broken rib and yanked. _

_There was something about his cries of pain that made Sarah pause. She looked at him curiously, a hint of recognition in her eyes. _

"_Skulduggery...?" She said slowly. _

"_How many other living skeletons do you know?" Skulduggery groaned. _

"_What- Oh, shit. What happened? What did I-" Sarah unhooked her fingers from Skulduggery's rib, which was sticking up at an odd angle through his shirt, and stumbled backwards. Such a massive amount of magic had temporarily addled her brain, and so she sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, hands clutching her head as she muttered quietly to herself. "...should have listened to Kenspeckle...he warned me...hurt Skulduggery...what have I..."Sarah noticed the woman's body lying not too far from where she was sitting. "Oh. Great. Bloody fantastic." She stopped rocking. "...I need a cigarette." And she pulled one from a coat pocket, actually getting to light up without interruption this time. _

_Skulduggery sat up slowly, groaning, and eventually managed to stand._

"_Let's go. I need to get to Kenspeckle." His voice was devoid of any human emotion or warmth._

_Sarah winced. _

–

"_Back _again_?" Kenspeckle snapped, irritated, when Sarah and Skulduggery walked into the medical bay. But his expression changed instantly when he noticed the blood all over them both, the rib that was sticking out of Skulduggery's shirt, and the general lack of humour in Sarah's eyes._

"_Good God. What happened?"_

_Skulduggery ignored his question. "I need you to fix my rib." _

_Kenspeckle glanced at Sarah, and she looked at the floor. "I'll-uh...wait outside." _

_She disappeared from the room without another word. _

"_I'll fix your bloody rib," Kenspeckle frowned. "But only if you tell me what on earth happened."_

_Skulduggery turned slowly to look at him but didn't object. He explained in clipped tones everything that had occurred since they left earlier. The Professor listened intently, his expression serious. When Skulduggery had finished, he set about fixing his broken rib. _

"_Well, I wanted to believe that Sarah wasn't like other vampires. At least not any more, but.."_

"_She couldn't help it." Skulduggery stated, but even he didn't sound entirely convinced of his own words. _

"_What vampire can?" Kenspeckle asked, one eyebrow raised as he snapped Skulduggery's rib back into place. "They may wear a human face, but in the end all vampires are nothing more than vicious, blood-thirsty animals."_

_Skulduggery grunted against the pain. "I suppose..." _

_Sarah, who had been listening through a crack in the door, stared at her feet. _

_She turned on the spot and left. _

–

_Several months passed and Sarah stayed inside the confines of her own house. She hardly ate and she rarely slept. Her usual hobbies provided no real distraction from everything that had happened since her discovery of the truth. _

_Skulduggery knocked at the door at least once week, but she never answered. So instead he started writing letters. They told of his most recent cases, Meritorious giving him nothing quite so grand as the previous one, when he had failed to retrieve both the Lightning Blade _and _the tome. _

_There was of course the usual dry, sarcastic humour, Skulduggery cracking a few jokes about the Grand Mage here and there. _

_But most importantly of all were the apologies. _

_They were subtle and not quite as heart felt when written in ink, but they were there. _

_Sarah could often be found sitting with these letters, staring at them late into the night, a deep pain in her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to _think.

_And so she did nothing._

–

_One particularly frosty night saw Sarah sitting at the desk on the first floor of her house, absently sketching some fantastical beast or another, when there sounded a faint rattling from downstairs. She stopped drawing to listen and arched an eyebrow. The rattling continued for a moment longer, followed by a quiet 'click'. _

_Someone was trying to break into her house. _

_Thinking that beating up some random burglar would be a good way to relieve her stress, she got up from the desk, strolled casually over to a blank space on the wall, and started walking up it. _

_She came to a stop on the high ceiling, peering down between the rafters. _

_Sarah waited patiently for the intruder to reach the second floor, listening as they rustled around downstairs. It wasn't long before the sound of light footsteps could be heard ascending the stairs, and a hatted head came into view. Sarah narrowed her eyes suspiciously._

_The rest of the perpetrator became visible as they reached the top step, and Skulduggery Pleasant looked around. Sarah found it very hard not to grab the particularly large, dusty book that was balanced on the rafters and throw it at his head._

_She watched as he made his way over to the weapon side of the room, examining different gun and sword racks, apparently looking for something in particular. _

_Ah. The Lightning Blade. Of course. _

_It had still been in Sarah's pocket when she had left the Hibernian that day, and she hadn't bothered to give it back. Now Skulduggery was coming to retrieve it himself. _

_He was just about the reach the rack the Lightning Blade was mounted on when Sarah dropped down from the ceiling, twisting in mid-air and landing silently on her feet. _

_Making not a sound, she tiptoed over to where Skulduggery stood. _

_Using her certain set of Adept skills, she could conceal her presence from Elemental mages. _

_Skulduggery was just about to close his bony, gloved hand around the hilt of the Lightning Blade, when Sarah struck out. Her fist collided with the side of his head, and she definitely felt something break. It wasn't her fingers. _

_Stumbling into the gun rack, Skulduggery yelled in surprise and pain. He barely had time to recover himself when Sarah angled another punch towards him, this time in the ribs. She felt them break, too. Groaning, Skulduggery tried to stand. Sarah gave him a hand by grabbing the material of his sleeve and yanking him forwards. He went stumbling again, this time landing in front of the stairs that lead up to the second floor. _

_Sarah walked over and stared down at him. _

"_Ah, Sarah. Long time no see. How are you doing these days?" _

_She didn't reply, and instead kicked him right in the jaw. He went flying up the stairs. _

_Sarah made her way after him, grabbing Skulduggery's collar once she reached the top, and dragging him into the first door on the right. Inside was a whole network of vivarium's, some no bigger than a microwave, others large enough to fit an entire car inside. _

_She hauled Skulduggery over to one such tank, raised the lid, and threw him inside. _

"_You seem a lot stronger than I remember." Skulduggery grunted as he hit the bark covered floor of the vivarium. The snake who's home had just been intruded upon looked easily big enough to swallow a man whole. It slithered lazily over to Skulduggery, clamping its enormous jaw around one of his bony wrists. The snake released him almost immediately, realising this intruder had no substance. It raised its triangular head until it was level with Sarah, who was crouched down on the other side of the glass, and simply stared as if to say; 'What are you playing at?'_

_Slowly, Skulduggery got to his feet and reached for the top of the vivarium. Sarah grabbed the lid and slammed it down on his bony fingers. "No." Was all she said. _

"_...Alright. But can I have my fingers back?" _

_Sarah loosened the lid enough for Skulduggery to retract his hand, and then slammed it closed again. There was a long, drawn out silence as Skulduggery waited for Sarah to say something._

"_Well-" He began when she made no move to speak, but Sarah interrupted him. _

"_You are the most unbelievable person I have ever met."_

"_Thank you."  
"That wasn't a compliment."_

"_Oh. Perhaps you should be a little clearer next time. It's easy to get confu-" Skulduggery stopped upon noticing the unimpressed expression on Sarah's face. She shifted into a sitting position on the floor in front of the vivarium, and after a few moments Skulduggery sat too._

"_Firstly, you lied about who I really was. For fifty years." She began._

"_Yes, but-"_

"_And I forgave you for that." Sarah continued. "_Then _you agreed with Kenspeckle when he called me a vicious, blood-thirsty animal."_

"_Again, I-_

"_I was just starting to forgive you for that, too." _

"_You were?" _

"_Yes."_

"_Ah."_

"_But _then_," Sarah shuffled a little closer to the glass. "You _broke into myhouse_ and tried to _steal_ from me."_

"_Technically the Lightning Blade belongs to the Sanctuary-"_

"_Shut up."_

"_Shutting up."_

_Sarah studied Skulduggery for a moment, her eyes narrowed. Eventually she spoke again._

"_You really are an idiot, Skulduggery Pleasant. But a loveable idiot."_

_When he didn't reply, she added; "That one was a compliment, by the way."_

"_Right. Thank you."_

"_You're welcome."_

"_Now." She stood. "Only two words are going to get you out of that vivarium, and you have to mean them."_

_Skulduggery dipped his head and was silent for a whole minute. When he spoke, his voice was indeed sincere. "I'm sorry." _

_Sarah smiled immediately and got to her feet. "Me too." _

_She opened the vivarium lid._

–

_**December 25th 1954,**_

_**Skulduggery Pleasant's Place of Residence**_

_Upon rousing himself from his meditation, Skulduggery immediately noticed that something didn't feel quite right. He reached up to touch the side of his skull and discovered the reason why. _

_A letter had been sellotaped there. _

_Gently detaching the letter and opening it, Skulduggery cocked his head to the side as he read;_

_**Look out the window. **_

_**I know how much you love Christmas, so I thought I'd get you a present.**_

_**Only joking. I felt I owed you for the other one. **_

_**You can think of it as a Birthday present instead, if you want.**_

_**Sarah**_

_He folded the letter up and got to his feet. The first thing he saw as he approached the window was a key taped to one of the panes. He tugged it free and looked down into the street. _

_A Bentley R-Type Continental, the very model that had been released this year just gone, sat directly in front of the house, gleaming with endless sophisticated glory. _

_It was the most beautiful car Skulduggery had ever seen. _


	9. A Familiar Face

Valkyrie watched as Skulduggery used the Earth skills he had developed and honed during his time in the Faceless One's dimension to clear dirt away from the spot Rapture had pointed out.

Before long she could see the tip of a large, steel trapdoor that was lined with rivets the size of her clenched fist. Glancing at Rapture, who was standing to one side and watching Skulduggery work with an odd little smile on her face, Valkyrie wondered how she had even noticed the door was there.

Given that there was nothing more interesting to do as Skulduggery did his thing, she strolled over to the spikey-haired sorcerer casually, hands in pockets.

"So." She began, trying her best not to sound accusing or suspicious. "How did you even spot the door? I mean, it's pretty damn big and all, but it was covered over quite well."

Frowning, Valkyrie went over that sentence in her mind and decided it had actually sounded quite rude. Usually that wouldn't have bothered her, but for some reason she felt the need to gain Rapture's approval. She thought it might have something to do with the fact that, even though Skulduggery didn't openly admit it, he respected her.

"I never would have spotted it myself." Valkyrie added quickly, in an attempt to make up for her previous blunder. Rapture, whose eyes had turned back to their usual glittering green, looked at her and smiled. Valkyrie noted the fact she seemed to be looking healthier already.

"Well, reason number one is, I suppose, the fact that I worked as a Detective for over fifty years with our mutual friend." Rapture nodded her head towards Skulduggery, who had now cleared more than half the dirt away. "And reason number two makes reason number one seem far less impressive. The glowing paw prints stop right there." Rapture pointed to the very edge of the trap door. "And the last one is cut off half way. Even a particularly stupid Goldfish could have worked out what that means."

Valkyrie nodded. "Paw prints don't just disappear half way. It's logical to assume that the rest of it continues underground."

Rapture tilted her head to the side. "And it's good to know you are at least on the same intellectual level as a Goldfish."

Placing her hands on her hips, Valkyrie huffed in mock-protest. "Well, at least I have a brain inside my head." She pouted and then made a very clear point to glance at Skulduggery, who was just finishing up. Rapture and Valkyrie shared a look, grinning when Skulduggery walked over.

"Right. Time to beat up the Baron." He declared, but paused upon noticing the grins on their faces. "...What is it now?"

"Oh, nothing at all my dear Skulduggery." Rapture assured him, waving a casual hand, but this was spoiled somewhat when she made no move to drop the grin. Valkyrie giggled, and Skulduggery turned to her.

"_You _will tell me what's so hilarious, won't you? My faithful little companion."

Valkyrie could see Rapture making fish faces behind Skulduggery's back and tried very, very hard not to laugh. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"So much for that faithful companion comment. I really should find myself a new partner." Skulduggery cocked his head to the side. "One who won't laugh at the faces Rapture is pulling behind my back."

"Seriously, Skulduggery. What _are _you going on about?" Valkyrie looked at Rapture.

"Do _you _know what he's going on about? Because I sure as hell don't."

"I have absolutely no idea." Rapture stated innocently, walking over so that Skulduggery could see her. "You seem to be imagining things."

"Yup. Imagining things." Valkyrie echoed, nodding.

Skulduggery turned to face the trap door. "Well, if I have already imagined your childish little conspiracy, then I'm sure you won't mind if I simply imagine you aren't there at all. That way, I won't be bothered by your annoying comments and incessant giggling."

"You really need to smile more, bones." Rapture nodded solemnly, and Valkyrie snorted.

Skulduggery ignored her completely and walked over to the trap door, bending down to examine the thick steel.

"Hm. If I didn't know any better, I'd say we were getting on his metaphorical nerves."

Rapture hummed happily, following after the skeleton detective. Still grinning, Valkyrie followed after them both.

–

After thirty solid minutes of examining the steel trap door, Skulduggery declared that it was impossible to open from the outside. Nails elongating and hardening as she spoke, Rapture disagreed. "I have strengthened my attacks since last we met. Cutting through steel should be absolutely no problem at all."

"There is confident, and then there is cocky. Are you sure you know which one you are?"

Skulduggery asked, standing next to the trap door with his arms crossed.

"You're just pissed that I let you scramble around on your hands and knees for half an hour looking for a way through, aren't you?"

"That may have something to do with it, yes."

Smiling widely, Rapture strolled over and flexed her long fingers, but just as she raised her arm to strike, there was a loud creaking and groaning. The ground trembled slightly and the trap door began to slide open at a painfully slow pace. Metal scraped against stone, and after a dozen or so seconds, the door had fully retracted. Rapture lowered her arm. "Well, that saves me a job." And she peered through the opening the door had made. A set of wide, stone steps wound deep into the bowels of the earth. Valkyrie shuffled over to the first step and looked into the gloom. Fortunately, the faint lights of torches in brackets winked from somewhere beyond. "Some trap. It couldn't get any more blatantly obvious." She stated.

"Then we should do-" Skulduggery started.

"-what we do best." Rapture finished. They both turned to look at each other, and said simultaneously; "Let's spring this trap."

Without a moment's hesitation, the two of them started descending the stone steps swiftly.

Frowning as she tried to figure out the complex relationship between Rapture and Skulduggery, Valkyrie walked after them. The moment their heads passed below ground level, the massive steel door closed above them, a lot faster than it had opened.

–

As they were bathed in darkness, save for the gently flickering torches on the wall, Rapture grinned widely, the whites of her teeth just about visible.

"God, I missed this." She reached out an arm and brushed the nearest stone wall with outstretched fingers, closing her eyes as she did so. "The thrill of the chase, the suspense-"

"The fights." Skulduggery added, and Rapture opened her eyes again.

"Oh, yes. The _fights _we got into. I don't think I've ever had so much fun. In this life, or the previous one."

Skulduggery cocked his head to the side, and something about the movement made Valkyrie wonder if there was any particular significance to Rapture's last few words.

"I heard that Skulduggery has been getting _you_ into some pretty crazy fights." Rapture hummed, dragging Valkyrie away from her thoughts. "You fought the Faceless Ones, correct?"

"Oh, right. Yeah." Valkyrie answered a little absently, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that had just settled in the pit of her stomach. This dark tunnel gave her the creeps, and it made her wonder what they were walking towards.

"That's quite impressive. Beating up a bunch of Gods." Rapture then turned to Skulduggery.

"I also heard you got dragged into their dimension for some months. How was it, by the way?"

Skulduggery clicked his fingers and sparked a flame in his hand as the torches became further and further apart. "All fun and giggles."

"It sounds it." Rapture nodded slowly. "...Can I drive the Bentley on the way back?"

Skulduggery paused, and then turned to look at her."You managed to change the subject in record time. Well done."

"So can I?"

"I suppose. If you're careful."

Valkyrie stared open-mouthed at the skeleton detective, and both he and Rapture turned their attention to her instead. "Hey, you actually look like a Goldfish now." Rapture pointed out.

"But you _never _let _anyone _drive the Bentley." Valkyrie stated, ignoring Rapture's comment, her eyes trained on Skulduggery all the while.

"Yes, well, Rapture can actually drive, unlike some people I won't care to mention."

Valkyrie glared at him and Rapture chuckled. "My driving skills _are_ pretty amazing, but I doubt that's the reason Skulduggery gave me permission to drive his Bentley." Valkyrie instead turned her gaze on Rapture, and she added; "I did buy it for him, after all."

"You...?" Valkyrie blinked, dumbfounded.

"Yup. It was a Christmas-err, _Birthday _ present. Well..." Rapture shrugged. "That, and my way of apologizing for trashing his other car." She beamed.

Valkyrie continued to stare. And then, slowly, a smile started to form on her face.

"So _that's _why you're so fond of the Bentley. Because it was a gift from Rapture!" She giggled.

"An interesting theory. Completely wrong of course, but interesting. I have been a big fan of automobiles for well over a century, and in case you had forgotten, the Bentley in question, _my _Bentley, is a vintage 1954 R-Type Continental. A motor befitting someone as suave and sophisticated as myself." Skulduggery called back as they continued on down the stairs, to which there seemed to be no end.

But Valkyrie would have none of it; "And now you're all embarrassed. That's just adorable."

"Please stop talking." Skulduggery grumbled, and started walking several steps in front of them.

Rapture and Valkyrie high-fived behind his back, smiles still plastered across their features.

–

No-one spoke for the next twenty minutes, but eventually Valkyrie got bored of this silence, and the never-ending-stairs."You still haven't told me what those letters were about." She said casually, glancing at Rapture, who smirked in return.

"Dear God, not that again." Skulduggery muttered.

"So _were _they love letters?" Valkyrie asked, ignoring Skulduggery.

"Not love letters, no." Rapture answered, fishing around inside her coat pocket for a cigarette.

Valkyrie tried not to look disappointed at this. It would have been a good thing to bring up and tease Skulduggery about when he got a little too annoying.

"But they weren't exactly what Skulduggery said they were, either."

Valkyrie looked interested at this. "I knew it." She grinned. "So, what were they?"

"Completely one-sided. You see," Rapture began, reaching an arm out so she could light her cigarette on the flame in Skulduggery's hand. " I was ignoring him at the time."

"Ignoring him?" Valkyrie echoed, arching a questioning eyebrow.

"Here we go..." Skulduggery grumbled.

Rapture elaborated; "I was going through a pretty rough patch, and this bag of bones didn't exactly help the situation." She aimed a half hearted kicked at Skulduggery's non-existent behind, but he side stepped and avoided it with ease.

"There was an incident, you see, and after this incident Skulduggery said some hurtful things. I had enough to deal with as it was, so I confined myself to the house." Rapture took a long drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke from her nose; it took the shape of a swirling serpent which flitted erratically around Valkyrie's head for a few moments, and then dissipated.

"When I didn't answer the door he took to writing letters. I was no longer a Sanctuary Detective at this point, so he filled me in on all his most recent cases. He also tried to apologize."

"Tried?" Valkyrie asked.

"I was almost at the point of forgiving him completely, but that notion was somewhat dashed when he broke into my house and attempted to steal something from me."

"May I point out that the object in question still, in fact, belongs to the Sanctuary." Skulduggery cut in.

Valkyrie looked from Skulduggery to Rapture. "What, you never gave it back?"

"I felt I deserved it after everything I had been through to retrieve it." Rapture stated. "But I won't bore you with that old story."

"How could a story involving magical ninja, a weapon belonging to the Norse God of Thunder, and most importantly, _me_, ever be boring?" Skulduggery made a point of asking.

"Norse God of Thunder..." Valkyrie mouthed silently, shaking her head. And she thought _her _cases with Skulduggery were strange.

"Do you remember how that particular little story ended, Skulduggery?" Rapture questioned, an amused smile tugging at her lips.

"Ah. Good point. You destroyed my car."

Rapture snorted.

"What? It was a nice car. I was rather fond of that old Randonnée."

Shrugging, Rapture turned back to Valkyrie. "Anyway, I believe I mentioned earlier what happened when Skulduggery broke into my house?"

Valkyrie frowned as she tried to remember. "You...broke his ribs? I can't really remember what you said." She admitted, looking a little guilty.

"Not the greatest quality for a detective to have, but I think I can just about manage to forgive you this time." Skulduggery chimed in, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Rapture continued regardless; "Four broken ribs and a fractured skull. I also tried to feed him to my python, Medusa. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to have an appetite for fleshless bones."

"So after you beat him up," Valkyrie mused. "Did he apologize?"

"Absolutely." Rapture grinned.

"Well, I don't think I've had even the slightest urge to say this before, and I highly doubt I ever will again, but; you go, girl." Valkyrie grinned right back, and the duo high-fived a second time.

"You know." Rapture hummed. "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship~."

"Don't get your hopes up." Skulduggery muttered.

"What, are you jealous Valkyrie here has a new best friend? I can't help it if I'm so amazingly likeable." Rapture took another drag on her cigarette and grinned.

"'Likeable' isn't a word I would ever associate with you, Rapture. 'Tolerable' perhaps. At a stretch."

"That was low, man." Rapture sniffled, feigning hurt. "I should forget this whole Baron Stattlich thing and kick your Elemental ass right here, right now."

"There is nothing wrong with Elemental magic."

"Well it _is_ awfully predictable, and Adepts have the drop on Elementals more often that not, but..." Rapture nodded slowly. "I can see the upside to it, I suppose." There was a mischievous little glint in her eyes. "Just imagine it!" She spread her arms wide in an over-dramatized fashion and looked off into the distance. "All of the sudden and mysterious gusts of wind that would tear through towns, whisking more than one or two skirts high, high into the air! The glory of panties, mine for the taking." She sighed wistfully and shook her head. "Oh, what could have been..."

"Trust you to think of some perverted way to exploit magic." Skulduggery shook his own head.

Valkyrie looked at Rapture and raised an eyebrow. Rapture seemed to know what she was thinking immediately, because she said; "I swing both ways, toots."

"Ah, right. Gotcha." Valkyrie nodded, smiling. "That's cool."

"Using the word 'both' suggests there are only two ways to swing. A simple left and right." Skulduggery turned to look at Rapture. "Whereas you swing _every _possible way imaginable."

"It's not my fault zombies and skeletons are so damn cute." Rapture huffed, flicking her finished cigarette down the stairs. The ash glowed momentarily, then flickered and died.

Valkyrie couldn't quite tell if Rapture was joking or not, but she laughed anyway.

–

After what seemed like a lifetime, the three sorcerers finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

Several metres away stood an arched metal door that was easily both tall and wide enough to accommodate a small cathedral. Intricately detailed serpents, each as big as a man, decorated its entirety. Rapture whistled appreciatively. "Now _that_ is my kind of door." She approached the rusted steel and reached out to touch it, fingers brushing against one of the snakes.

But before she could place her palm completely flat against the door, she paused, rounded pupils contracting into slits once again. Valkyrie stared as Rapture flicked her tongue out, the small pink organ shrinking and lengthening as she watched. She flicked it out a second time and it was no longer human, but the forked tongue of a reptile.

"That's pretty cool." Valkyrie grinned. "A little creepy, but cool."

"I always did wonder when you would take that to the next level and transform into some sort of freakish snake-woman mutation." Skulduggery commented mildly, extinguishing the flame in his hand and strolling over.

Rapture smiled around her forked tongue, head cocked to one side."You have some strange fetishes, Skulduggery." She teased, flicking the tongue out again. Her grin instantly disappeared, to be replaced with a frown.

"Is something the matter?"

"That scent...seems familiar." Another flick of the tongue, and another. "Yes. I'm sure of it."

Skulduggery turned to look at her. "Let me guess; the situation just got a little more complicated."

"You could say that."

But before Rapture could elaborate, the huge door started to creak and groan, much like the one they had entered through. There was the deafening sound of metal scraping against stone as it slowly swung inward on its hinges.

The first thing that hit Valkyrie was the smell; an overpowering mixture of chemicals, animal waste, and a scent that was quite unmistakeably blood. She hastily covered her nose with one sleeve and dabbed at her watering eyes with the other. "Now I get why Stattlich wears that mask." She managed to choke out.

Skulduggery, of course, wasn't affected by the smell. And after all the other strange things she had seen happen with Rapture, Valkyrie wasn't surprised to see it didn't affect her either.

There was, however, an odd expression on her face. Valkyrie couldn't quite place it, but it just seemed...wrong, as if it were an expression she didn't wear all that often.

With his head tilted to one side, Skulduggery came to stand next to her, as if he were worried Rapture might do something reckless.

"Rapture..." He began in a quiet voice, placing a bony hand on her shoulder.

But she shrugged his hand off and strode right across the threshold, a dangerous glint in her eye.

Skulduggery made a sound much like a sigh and walked after her. After a moment of hesitation Valkyrie followed, one sleeve still firmly clamped over her nose.

What she saw shocked her; the room they had entered was cavernous, the high ceiling obscured by shadows. A faded red carpet stretched down the middle of the room, starting from the door and ending in front of massive cylindrical shape at the far end. It was covered over with a dusty old sheet, and a metal catwalk was suspended above it. Two red flags, with the same symbol Stattlich wore on his armband, were draped over the metal railings on each end.

Strange contraptions and bleeping machines ran the length of the carpet either side, and half a dozen workbenches dotted with odds and ends, or variously coloured potions were slotted snugly in between.

And then there were the cages.

Dozens and dozens of them, all varying in size, stacked on top of each other behind the noisy machines and cluttered workbenches. Each cage contained an animal, some common, others magical. All of them were in poor condition and most of them had given up howling, barking or mewling long ago. Several of the pitiful creatures didn't appear to be moving at all, and Valkyrie wondered if they were even still alive.

"Oh my God." She gasped, lowering her arm and staring wide eyed at the cruelty around her. "That's just...that's..."

"Monstrous." Rapture finished for her, fists clenched tightly at her sides. Droplets of blood trickled from between her fingers where nail had breached skin. Blinking back tears, Valkyrie suddenly realised what the expression on Rapture's face was; anger. Sheer blood-boiling, teeth-clenching, murderous _rage_. She seemed like such an easy going person who rarely took anything seriously. But this...

This had crossed the line.

As Rapture walked stiffly over to the nearest cage, which seemed to contain some sort of fox with horns, Skulduggery moved to stand beside Valkyrie.

"Rapture has always had this strange affinity for animals." His voice was low and serious-sounding. Something that it rarely was. "In fact, I'm willing to bet she would sacrifice her own life to save any one of them."

Valkyrie watched as Rapture pushed her arm through the bars of the cage and gently stroked the horned-fox between its over large ears. It snuffled quietly and licked her hand, startling golden eyes almost pleading. The tears spilled onto Valkyrie's cheek, and Skulduggery dipped his head.

"Stattlich has a lot to answer for."

After a few more moments, Rapture retracted her hand from the cage and let it dangle at her side. "The man responsible for this will pay." She promised the fox, her eyes cold and determined. "And once I've finished scraping his face off my boot, I'll come back for you."

The fox snuffled in response, and already its eyes seemed a little brighter. Some of the other animals in nearby cages had turned their attention on Rapture too, as if they could sense their potential saviour.

She glanced around at them. "I'll come back for _all _of you."

–

Once she had composed herself sufficiently, Rapture walked back over to Valkyrie and Skulduggery, a real purpose in her stride. Valkyrie shuddered to think what would happen when she got her hands on Stattlich. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be so good for him.

"I do apologize in advance if our _dear _friend the Baron happens to die before you can arrest him."

Rapture told Skulduggery, already making her way down the red carpet.

Skulduggery shrugged lightly and made his way after her. "I'm sure it wouldn't be a total disaster."

For once Valkyrie agreed wholeheartedly. This guy deserved it.

They made their way down the length of the room, Rapture with her eyes closed as she tried not to focus too much on the caged animals. As they got closer to the giant cylinder, the animals seemed to get bigger and the machines more complex. A multitude of different coloured cables sprouted from them and disappeared down several oval-shaped holes in the ground.

"Welcome to my humble abode, your Highness. I have been expecting you." A smooth voice echoed from above them, and Rapture snapped her eyes open immediately. Baron Stattlich was standing on the catwalk directly above the cylinder, his arms spread wide in a gesture of welcome.

"I must admit, I _am _pretty amazing, but you don't have to call me Highness. Really."

Skulduggery hummed, hands in pockets.

Stattlich narrowed his silver eyes. "I wasn't speaking to you, _Detective._" The way he said the word made it sound like the worst kind of insult.

Rapture narrowed her own eyes and gazed up at the symbol on one of the flags that were draped over the railing. Valkyrie followed her gaze and suddenly realized she had seen it before; on the floor of a room in Rapture's house, scrawled in blood.

"He was speaking to me." Rapture corrected, eyes now trained on the dozens of candles that were clumped together on either side of the cylinder. "Isn't that right, Baron?"

Stattlich bowed deeply. "Of course, My Lady. I am honoured that you would grace me with your presence."

Valkyrie stared at Rapture, eyes wide. No. Surely not. She couldn't be...working with the Baron?

But how had she known where the trap door was? Could she really see glowing red footprints, or was she making it all up? And the strange symbol in Rapture's house, the one that was decorating the flags in this very room...

She backed up quickly, coming to a stop on Skulduggery's other side. Although she had only known Rapture for a short while, she couldn't help but feel completely and utterly betrayed. There was just something about the black-haired sorcerer that instantly made you want to stand by her side. To follow her to the ends of the earth.

Rapture paid this no attention and instead stared fixedly at the cylinder, the faintest hint of concern on her features. "Where did you find it?" She asked, almost whispered.

"It was not easy, I grant you." The Baron stated, avoiding answering the question directly. "But zat is not important now." He stood up from the bow. "I only wish to help restore you to power, My Lady. A human shell is unbefitting of someone so powerful. Of someone so...Godlike."

"Are you expecting some sort of reward in return?"

"I only wish to serve you. That is reward enough." Stattlich bowed again.

"If there's one thing I can't stand..." Rapture muttered. "It's a sycophant."

Valkyrie frowned. "I don't understand. What's going on?" She was expecting Skulduggery to explain, but it was Rapture who answered.

"I'm not on the Baron's side, Valkyrie." She began, displaying once more her ability to somehow know what was going on inside Valkyrie's head. "I am simply clever enough to figure out what is going on."

"Ah. Yes." Skulduggery joined in. "That said, I really think we should leave now."

"_Seriously?" _Valkyrie frowned. "After everything we went through to get here?" She looked between Rapture and Skulduggery. "An explanation would be nice." But the duo ignored her. Valkyrie could have been annoyed at this, but she settled for worried instead. Something really serious must be happening here.

"I saw you in Venice." Rapture said all of a sudden, addressing the Baron. "You were talking to Romeo."

Stattlich nodded. "Correct. I used zat dithering idiot to gather intel from your Irish Sanctuary."

"You were looking for it back then." Rapture gestured absently at the cylinder.

"Indeed, My Lady. But your Sanctuary had absolutely no idea where it was. I was actually planning to do away with little Romeo when you and the skeleton showed up."

"But you _did _manage to find out about me." Rapture stated more than asked. " That's why you kept popping up over the years. I remember your scent from the catacombs, in the Mjolnir chamber. Also in Russia, during the Dragon Cult incident."

"I've heard of stalking," Skulduggery began, having kept quiet up until now. "But this is just ridiculous."

Stattlich narrowed his eyes at Skulduggery, but didn't rise to the bait. He instead answered Rapture.

"Yes. After learning about you from the Irish Sanctuary, I simply observed for a time. Many years in fact. Nothing particularly abnormal occurred, so I enticed the Yami Tsuki with information about the hammer of Thor. Always seeking power, they couldn't resist."

Rapture continued to gaze at the cylinder and Skulduggery stared at the floor, deep in thought. Valkyrie was left standing by the skeleton detective's side, still wondering what the hell was going on.

"I knew zat you and Mr. Pleasant would be working the case," the Baron continued. "So it would only be a matter of time before you and the Yami Tsuki crossed paths. And after zat little incident at Kuro's house..." He clasped his hands behind his back and closed his eyes, as if relishing in the memory. "I knew zat you were the one."

"That's all very interesting," Skulduggery butt in. "And I'm sure Rapture appreciates having such a creepy, rabid fan who practically worships the ground she walks on. But we really should be leaving now." He clamped a hand around Rapture's wrist and tried to tug her away. But she wouldn't budge.

"I'm not leaving until I've made balloon animals out of his intestines." She flicked her eyes towards Stattlich, who cocked his head to one side.

"But...I do not understand. I thought zat you would want to return-"

"You clearly didn't watch me closely enough, Baron. I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in my old life. I have a new one now. One that I'm actually quite fond of." And before anyone could so much as blink, Rapture had disappeared from the spot where she was standing. A sudden gust of wind rushed past the Baron, sending his trench coat billowing all around him. He went to turn, but a wickedly sharp blade materialized at his throat, drawing small droplets of blood. Rapture stood directly behind him holding the dagger, her knuckles white from gripping its hilt so hard.

"I should cut your damn head off." She hissed between clenched teeth.

"My Lady should do whatever she sees fit. I am but a humble servant." Stattlich replied, completely unfazed.

"Whatever I see fit, hmm? Now that I think about it, simply cutting your head off would be no fun at all." Rapture retracted the blade, slipping it back into the weapon belt that hung around her waist. She grabbed the Baron by his shoulder and whirled him round on the spot, bringing a fist up to meet his face. He stumbled back, gas mask cracked and nose gushing blood.

A malicious twinkle in her eyes, Rapture brought her clenched fist up to parted lips and licked some of the blood away with a forked tongue. And as Stattlich picked himself off the ground, she moved in for a sharp kick to the ribs.

Skulduggery, who was watching all this from the floor below, groaned. "I hate it when she gets like this. Makes my job that much harder." And he ran over to a set of metal stairs that lead up to the catwalk. Cursing, Valkyrie followed him.

Just as Skulduggery reached the top of the stairs, Rapture kicked Stattlich again; he went flying over the railing and crashing into the cold stone floor below. She leapt after him, landing lightly on her feet. "Typical..." Skulduggery grumbled, turning on his heel and running back down the stairs.

Cursing again, Valkyrie glared after him, but decided to stay on the catwalk. She would cover Rapture and Skulduggery from above, just in case the Baron had any tricks up his sleeve.

As it turned out, a trick was precisely what Baron Stattlich had up his sleeve.

By this point, Rapture held him up by the collar of his uniform, throwing punch after punch at his face. The gas mask was knocked from his jaw and went clattering to the ground.

His eye was bruised, his nose broken and his lips bloody, but they were parted in a wide grin.

Rapture was too busy punching the living daylights out of him to notice when he sneakily slipped a knife from her weapon belt. He let her punch him one more time before swiping the blade across the back of her hand. The cut wasn't particularly deep, but the cold steel of the knife was coated with a thin layer of blood. Withdrawing her hand sharply, Rapture glared down at him.

"What are you-"

But Stattlich disappeared in a cloud of black smoke before she could finish her sentence.

He reappeared on the catwalk, one hand gripping at the large sheet that covered the cylinder, the other holding the bloody knife high into the air.

"Don't." Rapture warned, her muscles tensing.

The Baron smiled sadly. "Forgive me, My Lady, but you are not thinking clearly. Living as a human for over a century has addled your mind. I have no choice but to intervene. " And he swept the sheet aside, letting it tumble to the ground below.

"You will thank me when this is all over."

–

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that; the dusty, yellowing sheet fluttered away and a huge glass cylinder filled with luminous green liquid was revealed. Rapture suddenly went all weak-kneed and dropped to the floor. Skulduggery shouted something, but she didn't seem to hear.

Valkyrie didn't hear either. She was too busy staring at the tank, and the woman that was suspended in it.

Her skin was chalk-white, and hair black as pitch floated gently around her as the viscous green liquid bubbled. If she were standing, it would have easily reached her ankles.

Long, slender arms were crossed over a bare chest, and the nails on the ends of her fingers glinted like razor blades in the sunlight. They were even longer than the claws Rapture was so fond of.

But the most captivating thing about this strange woman wasn't the white skin, the abnormally long hair, or even the talon-like nails.

It was the face.

Even though her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping, it did nothing to diminish the unnatural beauty that radiated from her pale profile.

Valkyrie couldn't help but stare. She was completely captivated. Before today she never would have thought it possible...but this woman was even more beautiful than China Sorrows.

So busy was she staring at this rapturously beautiful face, Valkyrie didn't even notice when the top of the tank slid open. Or when Baron Stattlich hovered the knife over the opening, tapping the blade with a single finger, two droplets of blood rolling from the tip.

"Valkyrie!" Someone yelled, and it took Valkyrie a few moments to realise Skulduggery was calling her.

"What...?" She muttered dumbly, still unable to draw her eyes away from that deadly beauty.

"Don't look her in the eyes!"

But she was transfixed. She couldn't move, even when the two droplets of blood were swallowed up by the green substance in the tank and a crackle of energy rippled right through it.

The woman spasmed and her arms uncurled from her chest, claw-tipped fingers flexing.

Her eyelids fluttered, and Valkyrie caught a glimpse of red before she was whisked off her feet and sent stumbling along the catwalk. Feeling as if a fog had been lifted from her mind, she groaned and picked herself up. She could see Skulduggery standing in the middle of the stairs with his palms splayed, and guessed that was the reason behind her little tumble.

"I really wish someone would explain to me exactly _what in the hell _is going on." Valkyrie grumbled, brushing the dust from her clothes.

"No time to explain." Skulduggery told her, and she grumbled again. "Just stay here, and no matter what happens, do _not_ look the creepy, long-haired woman in the eyes."

"But-"

"Just trust me."

Valkyrie huffed and folded her arms, but did as she was told. Skulduggery turned and descended the stairs.

–

Back on the ground, Rapture was staring up at the woman in the tank with a pained expression on her face. A startling crimson bled into each iris as she stared, completely consuming the usual emerald green. And, just as they had done in the alleyway, her teeth elongated and sharpened, making her look like some sort of feral beast. As Skulduggery approached, even her hair started to ripple with the sheer energy she was giving off.

"I'm not so sure there's any getting out of this one." She managed to grunt, pausing after each word as if it pained her to speak.

"Now now. Where's your sense of optimism?"

Rapture chuckled weakly, but her face suddenly contorted and a snarl escaped her lips.

The woman in the tank opened her eyes fully, revealing slitted pupils and the same crimson that had taken over Rapture's own optic organs. She slowly reached out to press a long-fingered hand against the thick glass, head tilted to one side curiously.

"You and Valkyrie should get out of here. This is my fight." Rapture told Skulduggery, arms wrapped around her stomach.

"I'm not leaving you here."

Hand still pressed against the glass, the woman in the tank closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the initial crimson had disappeared, to be replaced by a cloudy, soulless white.

"She'll kill you, Skulduggery."

"I'm already dead."

"That doesn't matter. She'll find a way to destroy you. She is _me, _after all."

The woman, now revealed to be Rapture's original body and nothing more than a shell, turned its glassy gaze on the duo standing in front of the tank. It may not have had an actual mind of its own, but it was almost as if the movements had been programmed into its pale limbs after Rapture's blood had been introduced.

It _would _become whole once more, and it needed Rapture's very mind and soul to do it.


	10. The Dragon Cult Incident

_**Ireland, 1988**_

_**Sarah's Place of Residence**_

"_So you wish me to travel all the way to Russia...for a book?" _

_Sarah sat forward in her armchair, one arm leant against a knee. Long fingers curled around the tip of her chin, and glittering emerald eyes studied the bespectacled woman sitting on the sofa opposite. The woman, a local bookworm by the name of Maria Scribe, fiddled with the hem of her cardigan nervously. "Ah. Y-yes. That about sums it up." Her glasses, which were a little bit too big for her face, slipped down the bridge of her nose. She pushed them back into place with a single finger and tried to adopt a confident expression. It didn't work all that well. "But!" She sat forward a little. "This book is extremely rare and valuable! A must have for any self-respecting collector!"_

_Sarah smiled, and there was clear amusement in her eyes. They contracted briefly into the slitted pupils of a serpent. "And what, exactly, is this book about?" _

_Maria faltered. All the confidence and colour seemed to drain from her face. _

_Sarah had the uncanny ability to make even the most hardy of people feel extremely uncomfortable in her presence, and the book-loving sorcerer was already a nervous wreck._

"_W-well...I...uhh..." Maria pushed her slipping glasses back up her nose again and coughed. _

"_This particular volume is quite old. Ancient, in fact. I believe there to be only half a dozen copies in existence."_

_Sarah sat back in her chair again and crossed her legs. "If you aren't going to tell me what this book is actually about, then what makes you think I'll be interested in retrieving it?"_

_She didn't sound impatient. In fact, there was still a smile on her face. Somehow that was much worse than any snapped word._

_Maria took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a trickle of her earlier confidence was present. "It is a book on Dragonlore." Another push of the glasses. _

"_Dragons are thought to be extinct, having died out millennia ago. But learning about them; the rate in which they grew, their magic, their bond with humans...It would be absolutely fascinating, and such an opportunity only comes along once in a lifetime."_

_Sarah arched an eyebrow and tapped her chin, interested. "Dragons, you say? Hmm..." _

_She may have been something of an expert when it came to magical creatures, but records on dragonkind were somewhat lacking throughout history. _

_After a few moments Sarah looked up at Maria once again. "So tell me...what's the catch?"_

_Maria looked a little startled at this. "I-I'm sorry?" _

"_The catch." Sarah repeated. "You wouldn't have been so hesitant to tell me about the book if there wasn't some sort of catch." There was a knowing twinkle in her eyes. "You should know that I welcome a bit of danger, so let's hear it." _

_Fiddling with her cardigan again, Maria stared at her lap. "T-the book is thought to be in a small Russian town by the name of Drakon Kryl'ya."_

"_Dragon Wings." Sarah translated, one sceptical eyebrow raised. _

_Maria smiled nervously. "It is rather obvious, isn't it?" Yet another push of the glasses. _

"_But yes. This little town is surrounded by a small cluster of mountains, and a Dragon Cult is said to reside within the largest."_

_Sarah's interest was considerably piqued upon hearing this;_

_Dragon Cults were notorious for their fanatical behaviour and general extremism. They firmly believed in the continued existence of dragons, worshipped them as gods, and would stop at nothing to find a living one. _

"_Ah. Let me guess; this Dragon Cult has the book in their possession." _

"_Uh...well, yes." _

"_Excellent." Sarah exclaimed, clapping her hands together once and making Maria jump._

"_I do love a challenge, and Dragon Cults are known for being formidable in a fight."_

_Maria stared at her. "Y-you'll do it, then...?" _

"_I'll leave as soon as possible. If not today, then definitely tomorrow. Now..." Sarah switched her crossed legs round, peering down at Maria with a smile on her face. "About the matter of your payment..." _

"_R-right! Yes, of course!" Maria smiled a little sheepishly, pushing her glasses back up for the millionth time. "I don't exactly have a lot of money right now, eh, but..." She chuckled nervously, as if she were afraid of Sarah's reaction to this news. "But I heard you accept other methods of payment sometimes.."_

"_Well now. I didn't know you had it in you, Miss Maria~." Sarah purred, licking her lips in a sensual manner._

_Maria went bright red. "N-no...! That's not what I-" She lost her voice mid-sentence, the redness of her cheeks deepening. _

_Sarah hummed a laugh. "Relax. I'm joking with you." _

"_Oh! Oh, right." Maria chuckled again, still a little nervously. "Of course. Silly of me." _

_Suddenly seeming to remember what they had been talking about, she pulled her handbag onto her lap and started rifling through the contents. "I have this...here...if you're interested..." She muttered almost inaudibly, frowning at the bag in concentration as she tried to locate something specific. "Ahah!" _

_Sarah watched curiously as Maria pulled a strange silver bracelet from the voluminous space of her handbag and lifted it triumphantly into the air. It was made up of a thick band with two intricately detailed serpents coiling around it. Ruby eyes winked from their sockets, and ebony tongues protruded from their mouths. "This is something of a family heirloom, but I don't much get on with the rest of my family. They've always preferred the more...practical side of magic, whereas I would rather study it." Maria held the bracelet out to Sarah and she took it carefully into her own hands. "It is called a Familiar Bracelet. Just put it on and the serpents will be yours to command, and yours alone. The contract is only broken once you die, or pass the bracelet onto someone else."_

_Sarah turned the bracelet round and round in her hands, eyes twinkling, and Maria added; _

"_As far as I know, those serpents are completely indestructible. If someone does manage to destroy them whilst they are separated from the bracelet, they should return to it within the minute, completely repaired and ready to reuse."_

_Apparently making up her mind, Sarah clamped the bracelet onto her left wrist. The serpent's ruby eyes glowed momentarily and then returned to normal. "You've got yourself a deal, Miss Scribe~." She nodded, holding out a hand to shake. _

_Maria looked ecstatic and also a little relieved, as if she had been half-expecting Sarah to kill her on the spot and just take the bracelet anyway. She clasped Sarah's hand. "Th-thank you so much!" _

"_You might want to hold off on the celebrating for a little while. I am yet to return alive with this book." _

–

_As Skulduggery Pleasant approached Sarah's house, he could hear voices coming from inside. _

_Stepping up onto the porch he raised one gloved hand to knock, but the door swung inward before his fingers could close around the little brass knocker. Shrugging, he stepped over the threshold, door swinging quietly shut behind him. Following the voices, he made his way down the hall, not noticing the dark-haired girl that peeked shyly round the kitchen door frame, long fringe covering most of her face._

_A few moments later and a woman with messily cropped white hair and an impressive collection of scars came trudging down the stairs, wearing pyjamas and a half-asleep expression on her face. She peered at Skulduggery's back with bleary eyes and shuffled almost casually up to him, kicking him in the back of the leg so he fell to one knee. Before he could react, she had wrapped an arm around his neck, getting him in a nice strong head-lock. _

"_Saraaaaah." The woman called. "It's too early, and I need coffee." _

_A chuckle from the living room._

"_..Also, there's a strange man in your hallway. Kind of a skinny fellow." She observed, glancing down at Skulduggery's thin frame, not quite noticing the skull beneath his hat. "Want me to beat him up?" _

"_A skinny fellow, you say?" Was the reply she received. _

_The white-haired woman blinked her sleepy eyes once, twice, and then looked down at Skulduggery again. "Yeah. He's wearing a nice suit, too. And a hat." _

_No reply this time. _

"_You'd better answer, or I may just beat him up anyway."_

"_I _am _wearing nice suit..." Skulduggery muttered, and then turned his head to better see the white-haired woman. "Look, there's been some kind of misunderstanding. My name is Skulduggery Pleasant and I'm a friend of Sarah's. She will tell you so."_

_Another pause. _

"_I hope." He added as an after thought._

_The white-haired woman nodded once, and then called back to Sarah. "Says his name is Skulduggery Pleasant. You know 'im?"_

"_Nope. You can beat him up, Setari." _

_Skulduggery sagged. "Ah. I was afraid of that."_

_Before the white-haired woman, or Setari as she was now known, could start beating the living daylights out of Skulduggery, the younger, dark-haired girl darted from her observational point in the kitchen, running over to the pair in the hallway and placing a gentle hand on Setari's elbow._

_Setari turned to look at her, expression softening. "What is it, Phaya?" _

_Phaya glanced a little nervously at Skulduggery and then looked back up at Setari, her expression now a mixture of exasperation and amusement. She glanced in the direction of the living room, where Sarah currently resided. _

"_Ah. Gotcha." Setari nodded, having supposedly understood all this silent gesturing. _

_Apparently dissatisfied by the lack of brawling-related noises in the hallway, Sarah appeared in the doorway a few moments later. She looked at Setari and arched a questioning eyebrow._

"_You know this guy, don't you?" Setari asked._

"_I _might _know him a _little_..." Sarah said innocently, eyes wide. _

_Sighing but smiling, Setari released her hold on Skulduggery, who straightened up and patted down the non-existent creases in his suit. _

"_I'll leave you two to chat." Setari declared, shuffling sleepily past Sarah with Phaya, waving a lazy hand over her shoulder. "I'm getting some damn coffee."_

–

_After saying 'thank you' half a dozen times and shaking Sarah's hand at least twice, Maria Scribe shuffled from the living room, down the hallway and out the front door, clutching her handbag tightly. Sarah returned to her comfy spot in the armchair, legs crossed once again. _

_Skulduggery walked in after her, seating himself on the sofa. _

"_What is it you want this time, Skulduggery?" Sarah hummed, poking little holes in the leather of the arm rest with her sharp nails._

"_I thought you might be interested to know about my new case."_

"_We've been through this before; I'm no longer a detective. I haven't been for over thirty years."_

_She started picking at the stuffing in the arm rest, flicking it casually onto the floor._

"_I'm working independently now. Perhaps you didn't hear me telling you about it first couple of times, but you don't have any ears, so I think I can just about forgive you."_

"_Working independently?" Skulduggery repeated. "You're a mercenary."_

"_Of a sort." Sarah agreed, nodding. "And I must say, it's all good fun." _

"_Your clients hire you to steal things for them."_

"_They do."_

"_They hire you to frame people for murder."_

"_Again, correct."_

"_To protect them."_

"_Yup."_

"_And even assassinate their enemies."_

"_Uh-huh. Still fun." _

_Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Ever since that incident during the Mjolnir case, you seem to have done nothing but deliberately immerse yourself in criminal activities. As if people now expect it of you." _

_Sarah sat forward in the chair. "Is this serious?" She whispered. "...Are we having a serious conversation right now?" _

_Skulduggery continued as if she had never even spoken."The only reason I haven't arrested you-"_

"_Is because I'm your bestest buddy in the whole, wide world?" Sarah tried._

"_-is because the Council are afraid you might have another one of your magical episodes. But they _will _act if you draw too much attention to yourself."_

"_That cuts deep, Skulduggery." Sarah tutted, shaking her head sadly. "I thought we were friends." _

"_We _are _friends."_

"_Then what the hell were you just saying?" _

"_Working for the Sanctuary, although indirectly, I was obligated to say something along those lines. Well, maybe not _obligated, _per se, but if I didn't at least mention it, they would never have let me hear the end of it. Now," he relaxed into the sofa, legs crossed like Sarah. "We can stop with all this serious talk." _

"_Thank God. My brain was starting to go numb."_

"_Although-"_

_Sarah rolled her eyes. "Here we go..."_

"_-I still can't say I approve of the assassinating part." _

"_Don't worry, Skulduggery. They're all the sort of scum you beat up on a daily basis."_

"_Oh. I feel much better now."_

"_Good. Now what is it that you want again? I'm a little busy at the moment."_

"_My new case." Skulduggery reminded her._

"_Sorry. Not interested." Sarah said immediately, before he could elaborate. "I have to make travel arrangements." _

"_You don't even want to know the details? For all you know it could be something super-amazing, like trolley racing through the supermarket."_

"_Why would you have a case that involves trolley racing?"_

"_Well, a murder weapon could have been hidden somewhere in the supermarket. Trolley racing makes it fun, and we could also get our shopping done at the same time."_

"_Uh-huh. Because you of all people really need food and drink and toilet paper." Sarah hummed sarcastically. " And where would someone hide a murder weapon in a supermarket?" _

_Skulduggery shrugged. "The cheese counter." _

"_Oh, yes. I'm sure it would blend in perfectly with the Gorgonzola. Perhaps the murder weapon is a particularly lethal cheese wheel?"_

"_I'm sure that's it."_

"_No."_

"_I'm sorry?"_

"_Nope. No can do. I have to be somewhere, and as much as I would love to go hunting for evil cheese with you, I really can't put off this trip." _

"_That's a shame." Skulduggery said sadly. "I guess I'll just have to find someone else to be part of The Cheese Squad with me."_

"_The Cheese Squad?" _

"_Yes. That's what I'm calling it."_

"_Very creative of you."_

"_I rather thought so."_

_There was a pause and then Sarah leapt to her feet, scattering half the stuffing she had picked out of the arm rest over the floor._

"_Well, good luck in finding the dairy killer~." And she walked out into the hall and started up the stairs, leaving Skulduggery to show himself out. _

"_If you suddenly find yourself with the overwhelming urge to go trolley racing but no-one to go with, don't say I didn't tell you so." Skulduggery called after her._

–

_Sarah left for Russia early the next day, and even though the flight didn't take a particularly long time by itself, it was evening before she finally arrived in Drakon Kryl'ya._

_The town was small and unassuming, no more than a few hundred people making up the entire population. Crooked stone buildings rose up out of the earth, and cobbles lined the twisting paths that wound through them. The street lamps were old fashioned; tall black posts with lanterns perched at the top, each one containing a flickering candle. There were no cars, only horse-drawn carriages._

_It was as though the entire place had been cut off from civilisation, remaining far behind while the rest of the world moved on. Tall, snow-capped mountains surrounded the town, leaving only one small valley to get in and out by._

_It truly was an isolated place._

_As Sarah made her way through one of the narrow streets, steel-plated boots clacking against the cobbles, she was a little surprised to see how happy everyone looked._

_Each and every person she passed gave her a warm smile, and a few even shook her hand._

_Children played happily in street, some of the older ones throwing miniature fireballs around or attempting to push at the air and topple their friends. They all laughed loudly. _

_It was rare to have an all-sorcerer town, especially one where each and every person could demonstrate their magic freely without the threat of discovery. Smiling, Sarah walked on until she reached the nearest tavern. She paid for a room and then clopped up the stairs. _

–

_It was well into the night when Sarah finally emerged from her room. Most everyone in the town was fast asleep by now, so she was free to look around without interference. Much like a creature of the nocturnal variety, Sarah operated better at night. _

_Deciding that she could do with something to keep herself warm in the cold Russian weather, she first paid a visit to the small bar downstairs. Sitting at one of the stools, she ordered a scotch from the bartender and lit up a cigarette._

_As she waited for her drink, Sarah glanced casually around the room. Just the usual riff-raff; a group of men sitting round a table, playing cards and drinking vodka. A couple of intoxicated youths, laughing raucously and checking out the pretty girls that occupied their own corner._

_An old man sitting alone in a chair by the fire, fast asleep with an empty bottle in his hand. _

_And then there was the man sitting at the bar a little way from Sarah. Even sitting down she could see just how tall he was. A long trench coat covered his well-built frame, and a strange metal mask concealed his face. He clearly wasn't from around here. _

_Knowing a fellow assassin when she saw one, Sarah nodded to him, a twinkle in her eye._

_At first the man didn't react, and then he raised his glass to her, before draining the contents through a straw he had inserted into one of the breathing holes of his mask. _

_If the guy didn't look as if he could snap a person's neck with his pinky finger, it would have been quite comical._

_Her own drink having been placed on the bar in front of her, Sarah drank it in one go, watching as the masked man rose from his seat and exited the tavern. _

–

_After finishing her cigarette, Sarah got up to leave. She walked out the door and came face to face with..._

"_Skulduggery. I should have known." _

_Skulduggery stood before her, hands in pockets. A young man in a warm looking faux-fur coat stood behind him, his blue eyes wide and inquisitive. "Well, you should have let me fill you in on the details." Skulduggery shrugged casually. _

"_Perhaps." Rapture hummed, and then paused. "Huh. That's odd. I suddenly have the overwhelming desire to go rocketing down supermarket aisles in a trolley." She smirked._

"_Ah, yes. But sadly there are no supermarkets here, much less trolleys. You should have taken my offer when you had the chance. Now I get to say 'I told you so'." Skulduggery replied happily._

"_Get on with it, then."_

"_Very well; I told you so." _

_Sarah chuckled quietly and then turned her attention on the young man. Finding herself depending on nicotine more than just a little bit, she lit up another cigarette and stuck it in her mouth. "So, who's this?" _

_Skulduggery opened his jaw to answer, but the other man bounded forwards and grasped one of Sarah's hands in both of his own and said; "You must be the famous Sarah! I've heard all about you, and I have got to say.." He sniffed loudly and smiled, a tear in his eye. "It is an absolute _honour _to meet you."_

_Sarah nodded slowly, arching an eyebrow. "Mmhmm. Of course it is."_

_The young man laughed and then stopped just as suddenly. "Oh! Yes, how rude of me." He released Sarah's hand and bowed deeply. "Cal Guppie, at your service, Miss. Sarah." _

"_Wow, Skulduggery. Your boyfriend actually has some manners, unlike you. He's a proper gentleman." _

_Cal laughed loudly, as if he thought what Sarah had said was the funniest thing in the world, and then started coughing violently, tears in his eyes. "Ah, sorry!" He apologized. "It's just, I don't do so well around cigarette smoke! Asthma, you know?" And he continued to cough like this, waving a hand around frantically in an attempt to dispel the smoke, his face becoming increasingly redder with each second that passed. Sarah watched him curiously, one eyebrow arched. After a moment she shrugged and flicked her unfinished cigarette to the ground._

_Skulduggery just sighed. "This idiot has been bothering me for months, asking to tag along on a case."_

"_I'm extremely interested in detective work." Cal agreed with a nod and a wheeze. _

"_Eventually," Skulduggery continued, completely ignoring him. "I gave in and let him accompany me. I was getting tired of trying to insult him. It just doesn't work." _

"_He called me a moron and a dimwit quite regularly." Cal laughed, clearly having recovered from his coughing fit. _

"_See?" _

_Sarah chuckled. "Well, he seems eager to learn. Perhaps you can use this opportunity to show off your amazing detective skills, eh Skulduggery?" _

_Skulduggery crossed his arms and huffed. " That _is _true, I suppose..." He turned to look at Cal, who was smiling eagerly up at them both. "Also, having him around will make me feel infinitely better about myself."_

"_Because God knows your ego needs boosting even more. Pretty soon your skull will be too swollen to fit through any doorways. You'll have to live outside." _

"_I'd cope." _

"_I'm sure you would. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some investigating to do." Sarah informed them. She flashed a smile at Cal. "Nice to meet you, Cal. Keep mister grumpy bones out of trouble, will you?" _

_Cal laughed and nodded. "I'll try my best, Miss. Sarah!" He saluted. "I promise!"_

_Still smiling, Sarah made her way up the street, glancing back to see Cal bounding along behind Skulduggery like an excited puppy, Skulduggery just shaking his head in exasperation. _

–

_Coat wrapped tightly around her, Sarah made her way to the base of the biggest mountain. _

_She had to crane her neck to see the top, and even then it was mostly obscured by clouds. _

_Snow fell lazily from the swollen white sky, adding to the foot deep substance that already crunched underfoot."Hmm...where to begin looking..."She muttered as she skirted a particularly large boulder. "Oh. That was easy." _

_On the other side of the boulder, a humongous dragon face was carved into the mountain, stone steps leading into its open mouth. It was extremely conspicuous. "Perhaps they have a mutual understanding with the villagers." Sarah wondered aloud. "'If you don't bother us, we won't bother you'."_

_She shrugged and then started to climb the steps. _

–

_Once inside the dragon's mouth, Sarah proceeded with caution. No people seemed to be around, but torches flickered in brackets on the wall. Large stalactites and stalagmites hung down from the ceiling and protruded from the floor, looking for all the world like this colossal stone dragon's teeth. A large arched door took up most of the back wall and, as Sarah approached, she could see the little dragons carved into it. They flew over a great city, setting it alight with their fiery breath._

_Not too far away, a metal dragon head was fixed to the wall. A chain with a ring at the end hung from its mouth and Sarah pulled it without hesitation. The door creaked and then shifted, dust tumbling from the seams. It parted in the middle and slowly retracted, revealing a well lit corridor beyond. She stepped inside, following the winding corridor to a circular chamber. Half a dozen tunnels branched off from it, each one leading deeper into the mountain. Narrowing her eyes, Sarah flicked out her serpent tongue, tasting the air. The tunnel in the middle seemed to be the most promising; it carried the scent of dusty old parchment._

"_Well, I have to start somewhere." She shrugged, and then bounded down the middle one._

_The walls of this tunnel were carved from some sort of glittering green stone, and little gems winked from the ceiling. Sarah could hear running water and voices up ahead. She pressed herself flat against the tunnel and stopped to listen. _

"_...and it's gone!" Someone, a woman, exclaimed, sounding distressed. _

"Gone_?" A man replied. "What do you mean, _gone_? How is that even possible?!" _

"_I-I don't know!" _

_Another voice joined the conversation. _

"_Look, they can't have gone far. Try to remain calm. We'll send out a search party immediately, scour Drakon Kyrl'ya for the culprits." The other two seemed a little edgy still, but the third voice reassured them. "Do not worry. Our lord will have his day. He will hatch from the egg for _us _and no-one else. Have faith." _

"_But-"_

"_This world will taste of his fire. First that wretched Irish Sanctuary, and then the rest of civilisation. You can be sure of that." _

_The voices became further and further away, so Sarah slowly proceeded._

_**Why does everyone have it in for the Irish Sanctuary? **She thought with an eyebrow raised. A shrug. **From what I can gather these people actually had a dragon egg in their possession...Amazing. Three guesses who stole it. Hmm. I shall have to pay Skulduggery a little visit once I'm done here.**_

_Sarah emerged into another circular chamber three times as big as the last, just in time to see the bottom of a long, dark coat disappear round the corner. No alarms sounded, so she was safe. For now._

_She looked around._

_A beautiful water feature trickled away lazily in one corner, and most of the walls were completely covered in tall bookcases. _

_Sarah ignored this and instead approached a pedestal in the centre of the room. An old looking book rested on top, a glass case protecting it from the elements and, more importantly, thieves. _

"_But it won't be enough~." She grinned, unbuttoning her coat to reveal two weapon belts criss-crossing her waist. Choosing a particularly wicked looking half-sword from one of the belt loops, Sarah cut through the glass with ease, despite it being several inches thick. _

_The top half of the case began to slide downwards, and she dashed over to catch it before it could collide with the floor and make a spectacularly loud noise. Spectacularly loud noises would not be a good idea at the moment. _

"_Oomph!" Sarah grunted with the effort, lugging the heavy case over to the water feature and placing it gently on the floor. She retrieved her sword, returning it to the weapon belt, and then focused all her attention on the newly liberated book._

_It wasn't a particularly large volume, but the writing was small and cramped. The ink glittered red on the pages, still as fresh as the day it was written, several thousand years ago. _

_Pulling on some special gloves, Sarah eased the book from the pedestal, folding it closed gently and snapping the golden fastenings on the cover shut. She wrapped it up in a large white cloth, and then placed it inside the satchel hanging at her side. _

_Satisfied, she turned to leave. _

–

_Sarah encountered no-one on the way out, much to her disappointment. She hadn't been in a good fight for a while. Feeling a little pumped up after the whole thing, she sprinted the distance to the town, not stopping until she was just outside the tavern. Figuring the Dragon Cult members would take a little while to mobilize a search party, she sat down in her room to examine the book. Lifting it carefully from her satchel, she then unwrapped the cloth, snapped open the fastenings and laid the ancient volume out on the desk. The writing was small and swirly, written in some strange language. _

_Not having enough time to translate it the old fashioned way, Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the magic deep within her. After a few seconds, she reopened her eyes and they were a startling red. _

_Sarah winced. Each time she drew upon that particular reserve of magic, it seemed to hurt a little more. A trickle of blood escaped her lips and dribbled down her chin. She took another deep breath and then shook her head, as if to dispel the pain. _

"_Now, let's have a little look at you~." She purred, peering down at the pages before her. _

_The previously illegible cursive seemed to unscramble and rearrange itself until it made perfect sense. Smiling a satisfied smile, she began reading, occasionally flicking to a different section of the book. _

"_'Dragons are creatures borne of magyk," she read. "They have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the forces all around us, from the very moment they hatch. It is passed down in the form of ancestral memories'." _

_As she read Sarah took notes. She continued. "'Depending on the human they bond with, a dragon has the potential to consume the world with its fyre.'" _

"_Hmm. Depending on the human, huh?" She tapped her chin, and turned to the section on dragon-human bonds. "Ahah. Here we are." _

"_'After hatching, the first human a dragon lays its eyes upon shall be bonded with that dragon for life. The dragon will forever be at their command, obeying every wish without question'..." _

_Sarah stopped reading and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So this is what the Dragon Cult need that egg for. They want to hatch it and use it to burn the world." She rolled her eyes. _

"_How boring and predictable. Just think of what we could learn from such a magnificent creature..." She glanced back at the book, noticing for the first time the strange purple glow that surrounded it. Even if Sarah didn't fully understand how, she knew then that the book was magically protected. Indestructible. _

"_Well, it would have been handy to know that earlier. Could have saved me a whole lot of screwing around." Shrugging, she closed the book once again, not bothering with the cloth this time. She placed it back inside her bag, slung the bag over her shoulder and then left via the open window. _

–

_Her eyes still crimson, she used them to locate Skulduggery's footprints outside the tavern. After seeing them so many times before, glowing or otherwise, they were easy to locate. _

_Pulling the hood on her coat over her head she took off at a sprint, one hand holding onto the satchel strap to steady it, the other hovering over her weapon belts should she need anything stored there. _

_After a few minutes of following the footprints, weaving in and out of the crooked buildings, Sarah spotted another tavern. It was a little bigger than the one she was staying in. _

_She glanced up and saw several open windows. Flicking her tongue out, she tasted the air for familiar scents. _

_It appeared the highest window lead to a room in which Cal Guppie, Skulduggery's temporary detective partner, had recently been in. Still sprinting Sarah ran straight at the tavern, stopping short a few feet away, kicking off from the ground with considerable force. She went shooting past the open window and, on the journey back down, landed lightly on the sill with all the grace and agility of a cat. _

_Peering inside, Sarah's fingers continued to twitch over her weapon belts. _

_Nobody was around, but Cal had definitely been in here only a few minutes ago. No sign of Skulduggery, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. For as long as she had known him, the skeleton detective had no scent to speak of. It was a strange thing._

_Shaking her head and effectively these thoughts from her head, Sarah dropped right into the room. It appeared she had used up all of her subtlety sneaking into the Dragon Cult's mountain lair. _

_There was an open suitcase on the bed and there, nestled in some clothes, sat the dragon egg. _

_It was roughly round in shape and about the size of a football. Tiny black veins spider-webbed across its gleaming white surface, and Sarah thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She tiptoed over, went to reach out and touch it, then stopped. Straightening up again, she instead focused her attention on the wardrobe beside the bed. _

"_I've heard of skeletons in the closet, but this is ridiculous." _

_Nothing happened for a few moments, then the wardrobe door slowly creaked open and Skulduggery stepped out. "I knew I should have hidden under the bed.." He muttered. _

"_You stole the egg from the Dragon Cult to stop them from destroying the world." Sarah stated._

"_Indeed I did. It's what people like us do, remember?"_

"_Not me. Not any more." A shrug. "Are you taking it back to the Sanctuary?"_

"_Yes." _

"_I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that." _

_Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "And just why not?" _

_But Sarah didn't answer. She simply stared at Skulduggery. Several moments of silence passed and then, without warning, she lunged for the suitcase. Skulduggery barrelled into her, sending them both to the ground. The book inside Sarah's satchel went skidding across the floor, and Skulduggery followed its progress. "That book..." He started, but Sarah elbowed him in the head and scrambled for the suitcase once again. The tip of one finger grazed the egg and then Skulduggery clamped a hand round her ankle, dragged her back. She kicked at him, but he shielded himself with his free arm. _

_Rolling her eyes, Sarah kicked out again, a little harder than last time. Her steel-capped boot caught him in the side of the skull. A crack appeared upon impact and he cried out, releasing Sarah's ankle to clutch at it."I honestly didn't want to do that, Skulduggery. I didn't want to hurt you." She stood up and walked over to the suitcase, picking up the egg._

"_So why did you? A gentle slap on the wrist and a telling off would have sufficed." _

"_I know what you're thinking." Sarah started, ignoring his previous comment._

"_And what am I thinking?" _

"_That I'm working for the Dragon Cult; I have their book on Dragonlore, and now I'm here to steal the egg from you." _

"_So are you working for them?" _

"_No. I simply want the dragon egg for myself." A slight smile and the narrowing of eyes. _

_"It's funny how quick you are to accuse me of betrayal."_

_"Well, you _are_ a mercenary."_

_"Am I not also your friend?"_

_Right at that moment, three robed figures came crashing through the window, their faces concealed beneath hoods. They landed right beside Sarah, who was still looking down at Skulduggery._

"_Ah. Now, you see, I may have believed you before..."_

_Sarah sighed. "Great. Just great." She turned to face the three Dragon Cult members. "You really need to work on your timing."_

_They attacked, slashing at Sarah with daggers that had been previously concealed within their voluminous sleeves. She dodged with little apparent effort, dishing out cuts and broken bones as she went. Skulduggery managed to scramble to his feet and hurl a couple of fireballs at the assailants._

_Both fireballs collided with one of them, but didn't seem to have any effect. In fact, it was as if the robed figure were drinking in the very flames. The hood slipped down to reveal a feminine face beneath. Her eyes started to glow bright green, and then her entire body. She rose a couple of feet into the air, hair billowing out around her. Scales started to appear on her skin and small horns protruded from her head. _

"_So this is the true power of the Dragon Cult." Sarah hummed, eyes glittering dangerously, a wicked grin curling at her lips. _

_The floating woman looked down at Sarah, their gazes met, and the pair of them launched a simultaneous attack. As they grappled, a fight of tooth and claw and ridiculous strength, Skulduggery rounded on the other two. Manipulating the air, he managed to send one of them flying back through the window they had entered by. The other he clipped in the temple with a carefully aimed bullet. The Cultist spun like a top, hitting their head on a nearby wall and collapsing to the floor, unconscious. _

_The dragon-woman may have been strong, but Sarah was stronger. She lashed out a kick that caught her in the gut, and she dropped to the floor doubled up. Sarah used this opportunity to wrap an arm around her neck. Eyes almost glowing now, she tightened her grip and the woman's neck snapped with ease. She slumped to the floor, horns and scales disappearing along with the green glow. Sarah straightened up, wiping some blood from her mouth. She looked at Skulduggery._

"_Do you believe me now?" _

"_That was unnecessary." He walked over, nodding at the dead woman on the floor. _

_Shrugging lightly, a grin appeared on Sarah's face. "I got carried away. Besides, they would have killed us, given the chance." _

"_Exactly." _

_Sarah snorted. "Stop acting all righteous, Skulduggery. It really doesn't suit you." _

_Just then the door burst open and Cal came stumbling in. "I heard a commotion from downstairs! What's going-" He stopped abruptly when he saw the dead and unconscious Cultists on the floor. "Oh my." _

_Skulduggery bent down to pick up the dragon egg, which had ended up on the floor by his feet._

"_'Oh my', indeed."_

"_Detectives!" Someone called from outside in the street below. Sarah recognised it as one of the voices from the hideout. The man who had calmed the others down and organized this whole thing. _

"_Why don't you all come down from there and hand the dragon egg over to me? Before anyone else gets hurt." _

_Skulduggery strode over to the window and peered out. A cloaked man stood in the middle of the street, the Dragon Priest that Skulduggery had thrown out of the window lying unconscious several feet away from him._

"_There is one very big, very noticeable flaw about that statement. Can you guess what it is?" _

_Sarah joined him by the window, gaze never leaving the egg in his hand. Cal shuffled after her, looking a little scared and also a little excited. "If we hand the egg over to you, you'll use it to effectively blow up the planet." Sarah told the figure in the street, her tone slow and patronizing as if she were speaking to a particularly dumb child. "I don't know if you realise this, but blowing up the planet generally equals people getting hurt." _

_The man chuckled, lowering the hood covering his head. He had long green hair that was tied in a loose ponytail with a black ribbon. His yellow eyes observed them as an eagle might observe its prey. They were slitted, not like a serpent – but a dragon. "Right you are. Perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement. Why don't you come down here so we can talk about it?" _

"_So you can kill me, you mean?" Sarah snorted. "I would like to see you try. I really would."_

_And, ignoring Skulduggery's protests, she jumped straight out the window, landing upright in the street below. _

_The green-haired man studied her carefully, eyes glittering. "I know of Detective Pleasant, and I even know of his little sidekick." He tilted his head to the side. "But I know nothing of you."_

"_Amazing. Someone on this planet who has never heard of me." _

"_I am Arcaius Kalashnikov."_

"_Well, that's not threatening at all." She hummed cheerfully._

"_Might I ask your name?"_

"_You just did. It's Sarah." _

"_Sarah? Hmm. Such an ordinary name to take for yourself."_

"_But...I thought you hadn't taken a name yet, Miss. Sarah..?" Cal called from the window, sounding confused. Skulduggery sighed deeply and brought a hand up to slap Cal on the back of the head. _

"_Well done for broadcasting that, idiot." _

"_...Sorry..." _

_Sarah chuckled and shrugged, glancing up at the duo by the window."It's not like I care who knows it." She looked back at Arcaius. "Go ahead. Try and use my name to control me. I dare you." _

"_No no, that's quite alright. I can clearly see you are not bluffing." He smiled warmly, but that warmth did not reach his eyes. "Now, about the egg..."_

"_You can't have it. Non-negotiable." Sarah stated, flexing her claw-tipped fingers. _

_A sigh from Arcaius. "Then I shall have to- ah..._remove _you, and take it back anyway."_

_He started glowing like the woman from before, but instead of green he glowed golden. His eyes shone brilliantly as he rose up into the air, scales appearing all over his body. Curved black horns spiralled from his head and his nose became flat and slitted. A lengthy tale even sprouted from beneath his robes._

"_So what do I call you, a were-dragon?" Sarah asked, one eyebrow raised. _

_But Arcaius didn't appear to be listening. He instead took a deep breath, chest puffing out. _

"_Ah." Was all Sarah could say before he opened his mouth and a great stream of white-hot fire shot towards her. The fire collided with a solid wall of air, sending it in all directions before fizzling out to nothing. Sarah turned to see Skulduggery standing beside her, both arms raised, palms flat. _

"_My hero~." She gushed mockingly, clutching her hands over her heart and swaying from side to side. "Saving a damsel in distress – So _noble_!"_

"_I'm pretty sure in your case the correct term would be 'distressing damsel'." _

"_You sure know how to treat the ladies." Sarah rolled her eyes and grinned, sharp teeth visible._

_While Rapture and Skulduggery bantered, Arcaius had used this opportunity to sprout a pair of leathery wings twice the length of his body. The golden glow surrounding him vanished, and he slowly descended back to earth. Now capable of more than just levitation, he instead turned his gaze on Cal, wings flapping rhythmically. And as he rose into the air higher and higher, Cal's eyes widened considerably. "Uh...Miss. Sarah? Mr. Skulduggery?" He muttered shakily, just loud enough for the duo to hear. _

_They both looked up just as Arcaius angled himself towards the window, and Cal, who was clutching the dragon egg. "I knew I shouldn't have left it with that idiot.." Skulduggery muttered, reaching into his jacket and bringing out his gun. He whacked back the hammer and fired, the bullet making contact with Arcaius's back. It ricocheted off his scales harmlessly, the crumpled metal projectile falling into the snow beneath him._

"_Aim for the wings!" Sarah yelled as she made for the tavern wall, running up the stone bricks as soon as her feet made contact. _

"_I was getting to that." Skulduggery muttered and fired again, this time clipping the delicate, veined material of Arcaius's wing as he started to dive. The Dragon Priest literally roared, a sound that was amplified tenfold as it echoed around the enclosed valley, and he was thrown off course. _

_Sarah, having bent her knees as much as she could, launched from the wall and made a grab for his tail. With too much weight to carry plus an injured wing, Arcaius went spiralling towards the ground and the pair of them landed in the snow with a heavy 'whump'. _

_People started spilling out of buildings, yelling and screaming, clutching the hands of their children, dragging them along. Skulduggery urged them all to move a little faster and pretty soon the entire town was deserted, save for the four of them, and the two unconscious Dragon Priests._

_Arcaius, growling deep in his throat much like a dragon would, rolled over and tried to right himself, tail thrashing about wildly. He struck out an arm, razor-sharp claws catching Sarah in the cheek. They tore straight through the flesh, exposing her teeth and sending an arc of arterial spray out across the snow. Sarah gagged on the blood and fell over backwards, clutching at her ruined face just as Arcaius managed to get to his feet. With an entire jaw full of sharp teeth exposed in a snarl, he threw himself into the black-haired sorcerer, pinning her to the ground. _

_And that's when it happened. _

_Sarah's red eyes widened and started to glow brilliantly, all recognition and emotion draining away. Her teeth elongated and her hair rippled. Skulduggery, who had been shouting instructions to Cal, suddenly stopped and turned to face them both. "Oh no."_

_The flesh in Sarah's cheek started to repair itself, her magic knitting veins and muscles back together, replacing lost blood. One hand came up to grip Arcaius by the neck, long fingers curling, squeezing. He tilted his head curiously, and then made a strange growling sound that could well have been a laugh. "You think you can harm me, when I am covered in scales tougher than steel?" _

_And then he seemed to notice Sarah's cheek and the absence of her wound. "But how did you...?" _

_Slowly, a smile curled at Sarah's lips, and the recognition came flooding back. But she was somehow...different. No longer was there a mischievous, playful glint her eyes, but rather a cold, harsh intelligence."It was quite simple, really." She purred, her voice deadly and irresistible, laced with magic."Just as this is simple." And her grip around Arcaius's neck tightened, his scales cracking and crunching at her touch._

"_Impossible!" Arcaius cried, eyes widening as he leapt backwards, out of Sarah's reach. _

_A chuckle from Sarah as she rose to her feet."I will not allow you to abuse the power of that unhatched dragon." She stated, one finger coming up to point straight at the Dragon Cultist's chest. _

_He stiffened and the scales all over his body started to disappear, as did the horns, tail and wings. _

_Having seen Sarah murder someone before just by pointing, Skulduggery ran over. "Wait, Sarah. You don't have to kill him. Just calm down." _

"_Oh but I do, detective Pleasant." A tilt of the head. "And before you continue to address me with such familiarity, I shall let you in on a little secret; I am _not _Sarah. At least," she chuckled, her expression quite demented. "Not the one you know."And with the tiniest twitch of her finger, Arcaius shuddered violently and then spread his arms wide, head thrown back in a scream as his heart exploded outwards. "And just for the record..." Another insane chuckle as his body slumped to the floor. "I am perfectly calm." _

_Skulduggery stared at her for a moment, and then... "Kenspeckle was right." _

"_Right?" Sarah echoed, briefly puzzled. And then realization dawned. "Ah, yes. Of course. He only lead little miss goody two-shoes to believe there was absolutely no threat of another personality." She tutted. "Very cheeky."_

"_Many sorcerers have heard stories about Sarah the vampire; perfectly civilised one moment, homicidally insane the next." Skulduggery said, although mostly to himself. "Kenspeckle feared something like this would happen if our Sarah ever found out. But it seems he only postponed the inevitable."_

"_Quite. I bet you and the good doctor had some interesting conversations about the whole thing behind poor little Sarah's back." _

"_..So if she is Sarah, then what does that make you, Sarah number two?" _

_A laugh from the newcomer. "Hm, not quite. I was known as Sarah long before she was. It was the name I took on the very day of my creation. A psychologist would call this whole thing textbook split personality disorder, albeit magically amplified." She swept her hand aside with another laugh and gave a bow. "But where are my manners! Allow me to introduce myself; I am the darkness in Sarah's heart, the half that represents her demon nature and all things impure." _

"_A pleasure." Skulduggery said in a bored tone. "And I'm sure you are simply _dying _to explain the demon thing to me, so you may as well get on with it."_

"_'The very first Vampyre, borne of Demon and Man'." Sarah quoted, straightening up from her bow. "'Bringer of misery and pain, the Mistress of Death rises up from a lake of blood, consuming all before her'." _

"_How delightful." Skulduggery commented, retaining his bored tone, and Sarah shrugged._

"_Not my own words, I assure you. The book was written over three thousand years ago, and there was only ever one copy in existence, so I cannot expect you to have read it."_

"_Convenient." _

"_But it was the most accurate account by far. After that, things got a little bit silly; children of Satan. Burning up in sunlight. Stakes through the heart. And _do not _even get me started on the garlic." _

"_There is some truth, though. Vampires, for the most part, have weakened power in the sunlight, and a stake in the heart will kill pretty much anything."Skulduggery added._

"_Not myself or any of the first few dozen people that I turned. No transformations are involved and stakes through the heart actually tickle quite a lot." Sarah laughed. "But after that the blood thinned out and vampires seemed to slowly devolve into nothing more than mindless beasts."_

"_It sounds as though you detest your own kind."_

"_Is that so surprising? There are plenty of humans out there who hate being what they are. Why should it be any different for a vampire?"_

"_Yes, but I'm pretty sure none of them gave birth to an entire species."_

_Sarah chuckled. "I suppose you are right. But stop acting as though you are on the side of the vampires. You detest them just as much as I do."_

"_Not all of them." Skulduggery corrected._

"_Ah, but of course you are referring to _your _Sarah. The skeleton and the vampire. How very sweet. Unfortunately," a wide grin split this new Sarah's lips, and her eyes lit up with malice. "I never much cared for such trifling emotions. "_

"_You don't like trifle? Really? I thought _everyone _liked trifle." Skulduggery commented, feigning surprise. "_I _like trifle, and I can't even eat it."_

"_Yes, very good, Detective." Sarah smiled mildly, the faint twinkle of amusement in her eye._

"_But I grow weary of this conversation. The only reason I decided to put in an appearance was to retrieve the dragon egg, seeing as my better half could not quite manage it." _

"_You're right." Skulduggery nodded, hands in pockets. "She _is_ better than you." _

"_If I had feelings to hurt, that may have been upsetting." Sarah's smile widened a fraction as she turned to face the tavern in which Cal, and more importantly, the dragon egg, resided._

_Not even needing to look at Skulduggery, Sarah knew his fingers were currently curling around the handle of the gun in his pocket. Her smile turned into a wicked grin. _

"_Let us see who can get there first." _

–

_Neither of them moved for several moments, each staring at the other, Skulduggery's skull an expressionless mask, Sarah's face lit up with anticipation. And then Skulduggery pulled out his gun, whipping it round to aim at Sarah, who disappeared in a flurry of snow, insane laughter following her all the way to the tavern. _

_Skulduggery cursed and made to run after her, using up the four bullets left in their chambers to shoot at her blurred form. Unsurprisingly none of them made contact, and Sarah reached the large building without incident. Cal was peering out of the window, clutching the egg tightly to his chest and looking more than a little worried. "Um, Mr. Skulduggery..? What's going on?" He called, seeing the skeleton detective come into view, but missing the mini-whirlwind of snow that had just settled in the street below. _

"_Boo." Sarah whispered from directly behind him, causing the poor man to jump almost a foot in the air. He squeaked and dropped the egg, only Sarah's lightning-fast reflexes rescuing it from an impact with the wooden floor. "You really should be more careful with something so precious, Mr. Guppie. Perhaps, if I dropped _you_ from a height, you would learn your lesson~?" She mused cheerfully, walking around the startled sorcerer casually, bringing her free hand up to grip him by the throat. Cal tried to choke out a protest, but Sarah's grip was too tight. She lifted him from the ground and turned, started carrying him towards the broken window. _

_Skulduggery, who had just reached the tavern, looked up and saw what was going on. _

"_Will that boy ever stop getting himself into trouble?" He grumbled, and then brought up one hand to manipulate the air just as Sarah dangled Cal out of the window and released her grip._

_His descent slowed considerably, and after several moments he was only a few feet off the ground._

"_Oh, hey, thanks for saving my backside!" Cal laughed out of relief as Skulduggery dropped his arm. No longer supported by Skulduggery's Elemental magic, he fell like a sack of bricks and ended up landing face-first in a mound of snow. "Oomph!" _

"_You're welcome." Skulduggery replied cheerfully._

_Sarah, with the dragon egg still in one hand, peered out the window. "Yes, well done Mr. Pleasant. You are very much the morally-questionable hero." She snapped her fingers and the egg disappeared in a wisp of black smoke. _

"_You have attempted to calm Sarah before." The moonlight was reflected on her red eyes, making them look quite ominous. "Before she could do anything- hmmm~...regrettable." _

_A sharp-toothed grin. "And yet you still condemned her for those actions, which, admittedly, were not entirely her own." _

"_And I suppose that was your doing?" _

"_I may have given her a little nudge." A shrug and a chuckle. "But I wonder..." Sarah tapped her pointed chin with a claw-tipped finger as she pretended to think. "Have you told little Sarah about the darkness within _you_, detective?" _

_Skulduggery didn't answer. _

"_Ah. So should I take that as a no?" Sarah laughed coldly, and Cal, who had finally managed to remove himself from the snow mound, shivered. It had nothing to do with the low temperature. _

"_You obviously know the answer to that question already." Skulduggery told her. "So why bother asking?" _

"_Because it is more than a little fun." A slight chuckle here. "And in actual fact, she does have her suspicions, but simply refuses to believe. Her feelings have allowed all logic and reason to be thrown out the window." _

_Cal, who was listening to this conversation with mounting confusion, tilted his head to the side and little bits of snow tumbled from his ginger hair. "Darkness?" He repeated. "What darkness does she mean, Mr. Pleasant?" _

"_It would be best if you didn't trouble your simple mind over it." Skulduggery said without looking at him. _

"_But...what about Miss. Sarah?" Cal turned to face her. "Why are you being so mean all of a sudden?" _

"_Yes indeed, Skulduggery." Sarah hummed. "Why _am _I being so mean?" And with barely a flicker of movement she disappeared, only to reappear in the street below, directly in front of him. _

_With a wide grin on her face, Sarah raised one arm slowly, flicking out her index finger so it made contact with Skulduggery's ribcage. There was a sudden ripple of force and he went flying backwards, crashing straight through the wall of a small post office. _

_Lowering her arm, Sarah then seemed to notice the bracelet clamped around her wrist._

"_Hmm, what have we here~? A Familiar Bracelet! How novel." She looked up at Cal, who was standing there with a terrified look in his eyes. _

"_M-Miss. Sarah...?" _

"_Kill him." She hissed quietly, the bracelet raised to her lips. "And make it painful." _

_At first nothing happened. And then, with a little creak, the ruby eyes of the first snake blinked. _

_It slowly detached itself from the silver band, triangular head raised and facing Cal. The rest of its body slowly uncurled, ebony tongue flicking out to taste the air. With a tinny little hiss it dropped straight to the floor with a 'clunk'. _

_The other soon followed and as soon as it made contact with the ground, started to grow, as did the first. Soon their previously tiny silver bodies were each as thick around as Sarah's leg. Hissing loudly they advanced on Cal, who was backing up quickly across the cobbled street. _

"_Miss. Sarah, please! I don't understand! What are you-"_

_One of the silver snakes lunged for him, and he barely managed to dodge its snapping jaws._

_With a yell Cal tried to summon a flame into his hand, but fear overrode the magic and it spluttered and died. Sarah, who stood watching with her arms crossed and an amused twinkle in her eye, laughed cruelly. "I see now why Skulduggery did not wish to bring you along. Your skill is mediocre at best. You were never going to survive, right from the start." _

"_N-no..! I don't want to die, I don't-" A new determination sprang to life in Cal's eyes, and as the snake lunged for him again, he ducked down and shot a punch right into the underside of its jaw. _

_Hissing wildly, it shook its head from side to side, disoriented. The other snake advanced. _

_Cal tried valiantly to hold it off, but the first soon recovered and the pair of them renewed their assault. _

_A dozen bricks exploded outwards from the post office and Skulduggery emerged from the hole in the wall, gun fully loaded and back in hand. Completely ignoring Sarah, he instead aimed for the snakes that were attacking Cal. Much like Arcaius and his dragon scales, the bullets bounced off their silver bodies harmlessly, doing nothing whatsoever to deter the assault. _

_Abandoning the gun, Skulduggery tried a well aimed fireball. It engulfed the head of one snake, which hissed quietly in annoyance, shaking almost lazily to dispel the flames. _

_Cursing, Skulduggery ran for Cal, but Sarah stopped him with an arm around the neck. His hands shot up to pry her fingers away, but the grip was much too strong. Completely helpless, he could only watch as one of the silver snakes lunged for his partner, sinking its cold, unforgiving teeth into his neck. Cal cried out in pain. He cried out for Skulduggery to help him, but Sarah held the skeleton detective fast._

"_Let me go, Sarah!" Skulduggery roared, propelling them both backwards with a gust of wind, Sarah smashing her back against a nearby lamppost. But her grip held fast._

_Teeth stained with blood, Sarah grinned widely. "You are a little too late, detective." And her eyes travelled to Cal, just as the ginger-haired sorcerer let out an ear splitting scream. _

_The second snake had lunged straight for his stomach, punching a hole right through to the other side, and it now curled around his body, squeezing tightly. Cal gagged on blood and then went completely rigid, his eyes wide and flooded with pain. _

"_No!" Skulduggery yelled, just as the snakes tore away from Cal's ruined body, leaving it to slump against the cobbled street. Blood pooled around him, and he lay there twitching, mouth opening and closing slowly as he tried to speak. _

"_I-I'm sorry, Skulduggery..." A sad, weak smile from Cal. "I should have...have l-listened to you.."_

_The lights seemed to leave his eyes, and he went still. _

–

_Skulduggery went limp in Sarah's grip and stared at the floor silently while Sarah held out her arm, waiting patiently for the silver snakes to return. Blood coating their smooth bodies they slithered on over, shrinking in size once contact with the bracelet on Sarah's wrist had been made. Having settled down into their fixed positions, the ruby eyes dulled, reverting back to normal._

"_Well." She hummed. "That was all good fun, was it not~?" _

_Moving quite suddenly, Skulduggery tore himself away from Sarah's grip with renewed strength, slipping a wicked-sharp dagger from one of her weapon belts as he did so. _

_Whirling round on the spot, he buried the blade deep into her gut with such force they both went tumbling to the ground. Sarah gurgled a laugh as she lay flat on her back, Skulduggery with his forehead pressed against her own, grip still tight on the dagger hilt, forcing the blade in further. _

"_Has anyone ever told you what a violent man you are, Mr. Pleasant?" Another gurgling laugh as the blood spilled over Sarah's lips. _

"_He was innocent." Skulduggery said quietly, his voice cold and harsh as he twisted the blade painfully._

_A gasp escaped Sarah's lips, but the smile never left her face. "But that is not the real reason for this sudden violence, is it, detective?" She said. "You feel responsible for bringing him here in the first place, and also guilty for saying such cruel things, knowing you can never take them back." She pressed her forehead harder against his own and whispered; "You are angry with yourself, and not possibly being able to suffer any more than you already are, take it out on me." One hand came up to rest against the side of Skulduggery's jaw. _

"_Do not make the mistake of thinking I am ignorant to how you punish yourself, detective. How you spend every waking moment trying to make up for your past." _

"_Your Sarah, although unaware, does something similar. But instead of trying to make up for the evil in her past, she tries to drown it out in any way she can." Sarah's eyes twinkled._

"_Nothing you do will matter in the end. It will never be enough." A grin. "But why punish yourself for the evil of others? For that is the only true reason the darkness within your metaphorical heart exists. The only reason _I _exist." _

"_Why not let loose that darkness into the world? Share the suffering. The pain." _

_Skulduggery's grip on the dagger hilt loosened a little. _

"_Hm, yes. They deserve it, do they not?" Sarah continued in a whisper of deadly silk. "Deserve to die for everything that has happened to you? To Sarah?" _

_There was a pause, and then..._

"_Stop." Skulduggery resumed his grip on the hilt. "I will never let my darkness see the light of day again. That part of me is dead and buried."_

_Sarah chuckled a little psychotically. "Oh, my dear detective. We both know that is a lie."_

_And she sat up suddenly, sending Skulduggery and the dagger flying backwards. Before either of them could stand, a loud 'bang' echoed throughout the street. Sarah looked down at her chest to see blood blossoming from a bullet hole there, the small, mashed up projectile just barely visible within the enclosed walls of flesh._

"_The dragon egg!" A man demanded, and Sarah turned to see one of the previously unconscious Dragon Cultist standing several metres away, Skulduggery's smoking gun in his hand._

"_Well." Sarah began, getting to her feet. "In my experience, shooting someone in the heart and then trying to get answers out of them generally does _not_ work." She dug her fingers into the wound, working out the bullet with ease. "So I suppose, in some ways, it is fortunate that you chose to shoot _me_." Sarah flicked the bullet away and it clattered across the cobbles. _

_Her eyes lit up with a cruel sort of pleasure and the Cultist backed away, too late realizing his mistake. "The unfortunate part is, you now get to die." _

"_No more, Sarah." Skulduggery called from behind her, standing up."There has been enough bloodshed already." _

"_Oh, but there can never be enough!" And she rose into the air, arms spread wide. Buildings started to shake and crumble, the floor started to crack and the Dragon Cultist fell to his knees, clutching at his chest. Sarah laughed loudly as the cloaked man's heart burst messily, decorating the snow-sprayed floor with blood. _

"_I will hurt you, if I have to." Skulduggery told Sarah, walking to stand directly beneath her levitating form. _

"_Be my guest!" And Sarah turned her attention on a small alleyway behind them both. "But you had better hurry~!" A group of older kids stood huddled there, watching the whole thing with wide eyes. Perhaps they had sneaked back to town without the knowledge of their parents, curious, as all children are. _

"_Don't, Sarah." Skulduggery warned, a slither of concern betrayed in his voice. _

_But she didn't listen. _

_Fingers flexing, several of the buildings swayed dangerously and then toppled, broken glass raining down from above. The children screamed and tried to get away. One of them was crushed by a large chunk of falling debris, while another was slashed to ribbons by the glass. _

_Of the two remaining, one fell screaming into the void below as the floor broke apart, and the other made a jump for it, just about managing to grab onto a nearby ledge. Sobbing loudly, she scrambled desperately for the next handhold. Skulduggery dashed over and reached down into the gap. _

"_Take my hand!" He yelled, and the girl made a grab for his bony, gloved digits._

"_Oh, thank God!" She sobbed as her own hand found Skulduggery's, and he started to pull her up. _

_This relief was short-lived, however, when Sarah decided to end what she had started. _

_Now sitting on the cobbles above, the girl suddenly went rigid, her eyes wide. _

"_No, Sarah! Just let this one live!" Skulduggery pleaded, throwing himself in front of the girl as if it would shield her from Sarah's magic. But Sarah only laughed, her eyes glowing a brilliant scarlet. The girl screamed, and then suddenly went silent. Skulduggery turned to see her lying on the floor, motionless. There had been no heart explosion this time, but her eyes were wide and glassy, little trickles of blood flowing from her nose, mouth and ears._

"_Ooh, I can practically feel the anger radiating from you!" Sarah purred, a smirk curling her lips. "How delicious!" _

_Very slowly, Skulduggery turned back to face her, palms out at his sides. Using the air around him, he launched himself at Sarah, fist drawn back and ready to strike. A twitch of Sarah's eye, her smirk widening into a grin, one hand raised above her head. Skulduggery's fist collided with the side of her cheek, there was a blinding flash of light, and then everything went dark._

–

_The next thing Skulduggery knew he was lying in the snow next to a large, smoking crater in the ground. Broken and crumbling building remains were balanced precariously on the edge, and the large mountain that stood at the head of it was split neatly down the middle. _

_This was all that remained of Drakon Kryl'ya. _

_Groaning and pushing himself into a sitting position, Skulduggery peered over the lip of the crater._

_At the very centre, Sarah was reaching down to pick up something that looked like a book._

_She slipped it into the satchel on her shoulder, and then turned to face Skulduggery. _

"_You admit the destruction of this town, the murder of those children and Dragon Cultists, of Cal Guppie, was all my own doing." Her voice was quiet, but Skulduggery could hear her quite clearly. "And yet...you will never be able to look at _your_ Sarah the same way again. She will feel the coldness coming from you and not understand why." Grinning cruelly, she gave a bow. _

"_That, Mr. Pleasant, is the gift I leave to you." And, still grinning, she collapsed to the floor, unconscious. _

_For a long time Skulduggery simply sat and stared at the middle of the crater, where an unconscious Sarah now lay, her last words echoing around inside his skull. _

–

_Sarah awoke to the cosiness of her own bed. For some reason her cheek felt a little sore, as did her stomach and chest. "Ugh. " She groaned, massaging her temples. "I didn't let those Russians get me into a drinking contest, did I?"_

"_I'm afraid not." Someone spoke from beside her, and Sarah turned to see Skulduggery sitting in a chair beside her bed. _

"_Oh, hey. I didn't notice you there." She hummed. _

"_Obviously." Skulduggery replied, but there was no humour in his voice. _

"_What's up with you, Mister Grumpy?" Sarah raised an eyebrow. _

_Skulduggery hesitated. "..Nothing." He realized, then, just how true the words Sarah's darker half had spoken were. He couldn't help but feel resentment towards her, despite the obliviousness she so clearly experienced._

"_Well, uh, OK then." Sarah shrugged, eye-balling a packet of cigarettes on her desk and reaching out to grab it. She stopped, however, just before she could touch it. "You know...all of a sudden I don't really feel like smoking any more." A pause. "...Man, that's depressing." _

"_Just look on the bright side." Skulduggery said cheerfully, trying not to sound so obviously cold. "At least you won't get cancer now."_

"_Ha ha." _

–

_As Sarah took a shower, Skulduggery remained sitting in the bedroom, staring at the floor. _

_He thought about Sarah's reluctance to smoke, and how it could possibly be caused by subconscious guilt. Cal had been allergic to cigarette smoke, due to his asthma. _

_And now he, along with a handful of other people, lay dead in the Russian mountains, nothing more than so much dust mixed in with the snow surrounding what used to be Drakon Kryl'ya._

_But Sarah must never know, lest it give her darker half some mental purchase._

"_Deep in thought, Skulduggery~?" Sarah smirked, returning from the shower with a towel wrapped around her. _

_Skulduggery looked up but didn't answer. _

"_So." Sarah continued, seating herself on the edge of the bed. "Are you going to tell me what happened in Russia? The last thing I remember was Arcaius and his funky were-dragon form." _

_A pause. "...He didn't beat me up _that _badly, did he? I mean, I _do_ feel a little sore, but..." _

_Still no answer from Skulduggery._

"_What is it?" Sarah frowned. "I didn't..." Realization suddenly dawned. "I flipped out again, didn't I?" _

_Finally Skulduggery spoke. "No no, nothing like that. You were right the first time." He tilted his head to the side. "Arcaius turned out to be far more formidable than either of us expected." _

"_Oh, that's a relief." Sarah sighed. "But I'm still pretty pissed off." _

"_Understandably."_

"_So did you recover the dragon egg?" _

"_Yes. It is locked safely away in the Sanctuary." _

_Sarah frowned. "Can't say that I approve...but it's better than the alternative, I suppose." _

_A smile suddenly lit up her face. "I'm sorry for kicking you in the head, by the way. But I see that Kenspeckle has already dealt with it."_

_Skulduggery tapped his hollow skull, which no longer had a fracture. "Good as new." _

"_Huh. I'm surprised you aren't more annoyed." _

"_Me too, actually." _

_Sarah snorted. "Well, why don't you go downstairs and watch T.V or something? I'll get dressed and come down in a minute." Skulduggery got up and left without a word, Sarah retaining her smile until the bedroom door clicked shut behind him."Shit." She swore, eyes screwed shut. Something was wrong, as made quite clear by Skulduggery's strange behaviour. But, Rapture had to admit, his underestimation of her intelligence certainly came in handy at times._

_Throwing herself backwards to lie flat on the bed, Sarah spread her arms wide. _

"_Now. Let's piece everything together." She opened her eyes again. "Firstly there is Skulduggery, who seems strangely cold all of a sudden. He's reluctant to talk about Russia, and what he _did _tell me...hmmm, I'm just not buying it." _

"_Next are the cigarettes. Why, all of a sudden, would I want to stop smoking?"Sarah tapped her chin thoughtfully, trying to piece everything together. And then she noticed the strange indent in her bed canopy. Eyebrow raised, she leapt to her feet and poked at it. Something spherical rolled along the material and then dropped heavily onto the carpeted floor below. Gleaming a brilliant white, the dragon egg sat nestled in the plush carpet strands, black veins pulsing. _

"_Oh." Was all Sarah said, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together in her brilliant mind. _

–

_Finally Sarah emerged in the living room, and Skulduggery looked up. "I never will understand how women take so much time to get dressed."_

"_How do you know that's all I was doing~?" Sarah purred, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively._

"_That was inappropriate, Sarah." _

"_What can I say?" She shrugged, grinning. "I'm an inappropriate person." _

"_Indeed you are." Skulduggery agreed as she took a seat next to him on the sofa. _

"_So, how's Cal?" _

"_Fine. At home. Definitely_ not _coming on another case with me." _

"_You're right. He's not." _

"_I'm sorry?" _

"_You can stop lying now, Skulduggery. I know. Perhaps not everything, but enough."_

_Skulduggery stared at her for a moment. "...Why is it you have the uncanny ability to do that?"_

_Smiling sadly, Sarah crossed her legs. "Kenspeckle lied to me, didn't he? I always suspected as much, but I didn't want to believe it." _

"_Yes." Skulduggery confirmed. "He also told me not to underestimate you. It probably would have been a good idea to listen."_

"_Probably." Sarah sighed deeply. "You hate me, I can tell. But I want you to know that I'm sorry, even if it makes no difference." _

"_I don't hate you." _

"_And here I thought you were going to stop lying."_

_Skulduggery stared at her. "I don't hate _you. _It's _her_ I have an issue with."_

"_Ah yes. My alter-ego." Sarah snorted. "It sounds kinda funny when you say it like that." _

_She turned to stare out of the window. "...You don't have to stay, Skulduggery. In fact, you never have to visit again. Being around me is quite clearly painful, and I don't want to put you through that."_

"_Sarah-"_

"_It's fine. Go." And she exited the living room, leaving Skulduggery to stare after her, unsure of what to think._

–

"_Here." Sarah said, handing the book on Dragonlore over to Maria._

_They were currently sitting in Miss. Scribe's living room, which was more than a little overrun by books. There was hardly a space that wasn't taken up by stacks of precariously balanced volumes and tomes. "Oh, thank you so very, very much!" Maria exclaimed, hugging the ancient book to her chest. _

"_And you can have this back, too. I don't seem to want it any more, but I'm pretty sure I can guess why." Sarah yanked the Familiar Bracelet a little harshly from her wrist and held it out to Maria. _

_The bookworm blinked and hesitantly reached out to take the small, silver object. _

"_But what about your payment..?" She asked slowly, staring wide-eyed at Sarah. _

_Sarah shook her head. "Forget about it. I made myself a copy of your book, and that is more than enough."_

"_I can't allow that!" Maria squeaked. "You retrieved this book all the way from Russia, and the heart of a Dragon Cult lair no less! I simply will not accept no for an answer!"_

_Chuckling, Sarah reclined in her chair. "Fine, fine. Have it your way." _

_Smiling a little frantically, Maria carefully placed her book on the table. "Now! What would you like?" She gestured around the room. "There must be something that catches your eye."_

_Smiling, Sarah cast her eyes about the cluttered space. Most of the books she had her own copies of, so instead she started scanning the shelves. Nothing of particular interest there, either._

_And then there was the mirror above the fireplace. It was large with a chunky, gilded frame. _

_Maria caught her looking at it and sat forward a little. "Oh, you don't want that old thing!" She laughed, waving a hand. "It used to belong to my great-grandfather, who told everyone it was a magical mirror." Another laugh. "But nobody could figure out what it did!"_

_Hardly paying attention to Maria, Sarah slowly rose from her chair and walked over to the fireplace, staring up at the mirror. She could see the bespectacled woman reflected in it, a very slight haze all around her. So slight, someone with a less trained eye might not have even spotted it._

_But that was not the most intriguing part. Reflected in the mirror, right next to Sarah's shoulder, was a tall woman with chalk-white skin and long ebony hair. Her crimson eyes had a cruel glint to them, and she smiled wickedly at Sarah. _

"_You." Sarah said. _

"_Me." The woman in the mirror agreed, nodding, her smile widening. "This mirror is quite a novelty, is it not?" She gestured to the frame all around her. "It shows and allows a person to communicate with the darkness within them." _

_Sarah stared at her own reflection and the one beside it for almost a whole minute. _

_Eventually she turned back to face Maria. "I would like this mirror." She declared. _

"_Oh. But, um, it's really not worth anyth-" _

"_I would like it all the same." _

_Maria looked a little startled, but soon composed herself with a push of the glasses. _

"_Right. Of course. I'll help you carry it outside, shall I?" And she shuffled off to find a coat and some shoes. _

_Sarah turned back to face the mirror and her evil counterpart. "You and I have some serious talking to do." _

_She received a sharp-toothed grin in return. _


	11. Rethinking Tactics

For several painfully tense moments, Rapture's body simply stared from behind the glass of its tank, cloudy eyes devoid of any emotion. Devoid of anything.

A shiver travelled the length of Rapture's spine, and she clutched at her stomach a little more tightly.

"I swear, Skulduggery. If you don't leave right now, I'm going to play Jenga with your bones if we ever get out of this alive."

"You can threaten me all you like." Skulduggery told her. "I'm not leaving."

Rapture raised her eyebrow at him. "You know, you can be such a-"

She was cut off mid-sentence by the dull clanging noise that echoed all around the cavernous room. Both she and Skulduggery looked up to see the pale figure in the tank with both its hands pressed against the glass. Little cracks began to appear where its fingers made contact, spreading across the entire cylinder like a quickly multiplying virus.

A few seconds passed where nothing happened. And then, quite suddenly, the cracked glass burst outward and started raining onto the floor below, thousands of little pieces scattering in a wide arc, the strange green liquid flooding out.

Skulduggery dashed forward and wrapped an arm around Rapture's waist, propelling them both into the air with his magic before the glass could cut them into pieces.

Rapture adopted a slightly surprised expression as Skulduggery circled the room, searching for her body, which was nowhere to be seen. "Huh. I didn't know you could fly."

A pause.

"..You can put me down now, by the way. Or do I have to break your head again? It's becoming something of a habit."

Skulduggery turned to look at her. "Well, three time's the charm, or so the saying goes."

"So you actually _want _me to break your head?"

"Good God no. Whatever gave you that idea?"

Rapture snorted. "Fine. But you can still put me down."

"No."

Rapture opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shout from behind.

"Look out!" Valkyrie yelled, but too late did the airborne duo look up.

One of the rusty old chains that had been dangling from the catwalk appeared in Rapture's vision. It wrapped several times around her neck, and she gagged as someone pulled her from Skulduggery's grip.

To give him credit, Skulduggery reacted with impressive speed. He whipped round to face Rapture and the empty body, which was now pulling her toward the ground below with a lengthy amount of chain, bringing out his gun before one could blink. But there was no clear shot.

Rapture reached out her hand to him as he dived after her, his own arm extended.

Their fingers brushed, but Rapture's body pulled on the chain again, jerking her back.

The pair of them went crashing heavily into the floor, sending a small cloud of dust into the air as the stone beneath them was crushed upon impact. Before he could join Rapture and her body in the small crater they had made, Skulduggery pulled up sharply and hovered overhead, waiting for the dust to settle.

With a generous amount of blood flowing from her mouth, Rapture lay spread-eagled at the centre of the crater, coughing profusely. Her body stood at the lip, staring down with blank eyes.

It made to move closer, but Skulduggery dropped into a dive, firing as he went.

The bullets packed enough of a punch to make it stumble, but the wounds healed almost instantly, much faster than Rapture could recover from her fall.

Valkyrie, meanwhile, had her own problems to deal with. While everyone else had been preoccupied with Rapture's original body, Stattlich had slipped away.

He returned several moments later standing on top of a particularly large cage, brand new gas mask strapped to his face. With a click of his fingers the cage door swung open, granting the massive creature inside freedom to leave.

The bottom seemed to drop out of Valkyrie's stomach; it was a Demon-Hound.

At least three times bigger than the one she and Skulduggery had previously encountered.

Very slowly, the colossal beast raised its head to look out of the now open cage. It stared long and hard, red eyes blinking as if trying to figure out whether or not this was some kind of trick.

Clearly deciding it wasn't, the Demon-Hound rose quite suddenly to its feet, long pointed ears erect. Completely ignoring Rapture, her empty body and Skulduggery, it instead turned its gaze on Valkyrie.

Valkyrie froze, that familiar feeling of hopelessness starting to fill her up. The Demon-Hound slowly advanced, heavy footsteps making indents on the stone floor as it went.

Even up high on the catwalk as she was, the Demon-Hound's eyes were level with Valkyrie's own.

There was no escape. She was going to die up here, in Stattlich's cold and horrible lair. The beast would eat her whole, and that would be the end of Valkyrie Cain. Skulduggery and Rapture were too busy or incapacitated to help. She was going to-

"Valkyrie!" Someone yelled, and Valkyrie managed to tear her eyes away from the Demon-Hound.

She looked around for the source of the voice and spotted Skulduggery standing by the crater below, one hand gripping the Lightning-Blade, the other hurling fireballs at Rapture's body.

"Catch!" And he threw it at the catwalk, using a blast of air to propel it upwards.

Valkyrie desperately scrabbled for it and managed to close one hand around the hilt.

Almost laughing in relief, she pressed the button on the pommel as Rapture had done, and a blade made of pure lightning crackled into existence.

She then did something that was incredibly brave. Or incredibly stupid.

With the Lightning-Blade raised above her head, Valkyrie made a dash for the railing, one foot coming up to launch herself from it. She landed heavily on the Demon-Hound's head, right between its ears. Snarling in outrage, the massive beast shook its head from side to side in an attempt to shake off the unwanted passenger. Yelling loudly, Valkyrie brought down the flickering blade, sending a current of electricity right through the Hound. At that moment she was extremely grateful for Ghastly's protective clothing. The beast yelped, its black fur standing up on end. But that yelp soon turned into a snarl as it tried more desperately to shake Valkyrie off. With both legs clamped tightly against its head, she struck it with the Lightning-Blade again and again, and with each hit it put up less and less of a fight. Eventually it collapsed to the floor, panting and whimpering, ears flat against its skull.

Pressing the button on the pommel again, Valkyrie followed suit and collapsed against the Demon-Hound's head, exhausted. "Are you going to behave now?" She muttered, and received a half-hearted whine in return. "Jeez, don't do that. You're making me feel kinda bad."

Rapture, who had been watching all this from the crater in the floor, grumbled and tried to push herself into a sitting position. Her back had pretty much mended itself by now, and her trashed organs were good as new once again. Almost. Wincing, she got shakily to her feet. Skulduggery was off to her right somewhere, trying to keep the empty shell of a body occupied. There were several deep gashes in his skull, and his suit hung in ruined shreds from his skeletal frame. Making up her mind, Rapture glanced up at Valkyrie, shouted; "Free the other animals!" And then launched herself into the fight on the ground.

It took Valkyrie a few moments to register what Rapture had said.

She stared blankly at the black-haired sorcerer, and then shifted her gaze to the Demon-Hound beneath her. "Oh." Feeling more than a little bit nervous, Valkyrie hesitantly patted the giant creature on its shaggy head. "Uh, come on boy. Let's go and rescue your friends."

It snuffled weakly, and then seemed to remember the Lightning-Blade. Not wanting another zap from that evil thing, it jumped to its feet and went barrelling right into the nearest occupied cage.

The door burst open, and a slightly smaller Demon-Hound came tumbling out.

They shared a brief conversation made up of yips, growls and snarls and the other, smaller Hound went off to break open some more cages.

Soon the entire room was teeming with strange creatures; lions with two heads, tigers with six legs, horned foxes, scaly house cats, flaming birds, smoky wolves and a wide variety of others.

The majority of them dashed for the door, but the more intelligent ones recognized they had been rescued, and turned to help. A giant feathered serpent shot along the floor and crashed straight into Rapture's body, sending it skidding back. A panda with black and white wings flew overhead, spitting out large balls of flame from its mouth.

Rapture used this distraction to make her way over to Skulduggery, who was on one knee and struggling to stand. She grabbed his arm and yanked him upright. "Come on, you useless bag of bones." Rapture urged, pulling one of his arms over her shoulder. "Lean on me."

"Tell Valkyrie...Fletcher..." Skulduggery muttered, and Rapture had to lean a little closer to hear what he was saying.

"What was that?"

"Fletcher." He tried again. "Tell Valkyrie to ring Fletcher."

"Gotcha." Rapture turned to look up at Valkyrie, who was still sitting on the Demon-Hound.

"Oi, beast-tamer!" She yelled, and Valkyrie glanced down. "Skulduggery wants you to ring someone called Fletcher."

Valkyrie nodded once, understanding, and pulled a phone from her pocket.

Barely listening as Valkyrie barked orders into the phone, Rapture dragged Skulduggery towards the exit. She glanced back briefly to see her body being swamped by snarling, hissing and screeching animals. Stattlich himself was neck-deep in a pack of small, vibrantly green dogs that were decidedly more vicious than they looked.

Rapture allowed herself a smug grin at that before returning her attention to the dire situation at hand. As they got closer to the exit, Valkyrie caught up to them on foot and handed Rapture the Lightning-Blade, which she then fixed back onto her weapon belt.

The Demon-Hound seemed to be taking a great deal of pleasure in destroying all the lab equipment in the room, smashing up strange tanks full of water, chewing through brightly coloured cables and toppling whirring machines.

"This is probably the best damn revenge I've ever seen." Rapture commented mildly.

"Oh, hell yes." Valkyrie panted, smiling, and then turned to look at Skulduggery. "Fletcher's on his way."

"Yes, well, even an idiot would have trouble missing a giant trap door in the middle of such a pathetic-sized forest." Skulduggery nodded. "Which is a very good thing indeed."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes and smirked.

"So who exactly is this Fletcher person?" Rapture asked, eyebrow cocked.

"Fletcher Renn is the last Teleporter." Valkyrie explained.

"Ah. Right. So that's one mystery solved. Now we just need to figure out how to get all the way back up those stairs. And quickly." Rapture thought about a solution for half a second and then, slowly, a smile appeared on her face.

"Why does that make me feel so uneasy?" Skulduggery muttered.

"Probably because I'm about to do this."

A rainbow-coloured zebra was fast galloping towards them and Rapture stopped dead, spreading her legs apart a little, strengthening her stance. Using the momentum, she swung Skulduggery round, depositing him on the zebra's back as it zoomed past. It brayed a little nervously, but continued on all the same, making a dash for the stairs.

Valkyrie stared after it. "I _cannot _believe you just did that." She snorted, and Rapture gave her a look. "...Alright, so I can."

Grinning, Rapture jogged sideways over to Valkyrie. "Your turn."

"Oh, hell no. You are _not_ putting me on a rainbow-coloured anything!"

But Rapture had already grabbed her by the back of the coat. With a firm tug, she lifted Valkyrie off her feet and sent her flying ahead. She landed on the back of a large hyena-type creature, which gave an eerie laugh and picked up speed.

Rapture leapt onto the feathered serpent as it careened past, standing perfectly upright on its head. And, with each of them riding their own strange critter, the trio fast made their way back to the surface.

Something large had already managed to break through the steel door at the top of the stairs, so that was one less problem to solve. As soon as the feathered serpent emerged into the night air, Rapture leapt down from its head, watching as it disappeared into the trees, uprooting one or two along the way. Skulduggery and Valkyrie had already abandoned their rides and were laying in the grass.

"Let's never do that again." Valkyrie muttered a little breathlessly, and Rapture laughed.

"Oh, you loved it."

"Well, maybe just a _little_..."

"Valkyrie!" Someone shouted from in between a cluster of trees up ahead, and a boy with ridiculous hair came running over. He spotted how bedraggled she looked, and the ruined suit that was hanging off Skulduggery.

"What the hell happened?"

"No time for that." Rapture told him, strolling over. She glanced back through the trap-door and took a deep breath. "We have to get out of here. _Now_."

"And who are you?" He asked with one eyebrow raised, looking Rapture up and down. A stupid grin appeared on his face.

"For God's sake, Fletcher." Valkyrie scolded, getting to her feet and punching him on the shoulder.

"Ouch. That really hurt, Val."

"Oh, stop being such a cry baby." Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "Look, there'll be more time for flirting later. Right now you need to teleport us away from here."

"Teleport where?"

"I don't know."

Groaning, Skulduggery pushed himself to his feet. "Ghastly." He stumbled, and Rapture walked over, allowing him to put a hand on her shoulder and steady himself. "Take us to Ghastly's."

Fletcher went to say something, but Valkyrie shot him a quelling glare and the words died in his throat. The two of them walked over to Rapture and Skulduggery, Valkyrie placing her hand on the skeleton detective's arm.

Rapture saw the porcelain-white figure of her body emerge from the tunnel just as Fletcher took Valkyrie's hand. The forest suddenly disappeared, and they were all standing directly in front of a small, run down looking shop. Rapture's body was nowhere to be seen. They were safe.

For now.

–

Ten minutes later saw the four of them in Ghastly's living room, plus Ghastly himself.

"So let me get this straight.." The tailor began, taking a sip from the cup of tea in his hand.

"It's been twenty years since you and Rapture last saw each other, and when you finally decide to get in touch again, the pair of you manage to immerse yourself in probably more danger than ever before," another sip of tea. "In the space of a few short hours."

"That about sums it up." Skulduggery agreed cheerfully.

Ghastly sighed. "And I suppose you'll want one of your spare suits, too."

Skulduggery raised his arms, showing the room at large how one of the sleeves had actually become detached from the rest of the suit. "I think that would be a good idea, yes."

"They're in the usual place." Ghastly told him. "And please do try not to destroy the new one."

Skulduggery got to his feet. "I'll try my best." He thanked Ghastly, and then disappeared into another room.

Valkyrie abandoned her tea on the table and frowned. "I'm still extremely confused."

"Me too." Fletcher agreed, nodding.

"You're always confused." Valkyrie told him.

"Oh, that's charming, that is."

Rapture chuckled and perched herself on the arm of Ghastly's chair. "I don't blame you for being so confused. There's an awful lot to explain, so I may aswell start at the beginning."

And so she began to tell the tale of Sarah the vampire; a creature of two separate minds who tore a bloody path through history.

Skulduggery, now wearing a brand new suit, walked back into the room just as Rapture started to explain how she had become human."Ah, Skulduggery. You might be interested to know this." Rapture told him, looking up at his skeletal profile. "I've learnt a lot more about my past since last we met." She looked him up and down and with a smirk, said; "Nice suit, by the way."

"I know." Skulduggery agreed, straightening his tie. Curious about Rapture's past, he then sat down in a nearby chair.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes. There is only one way for a demon to die, and that is suicide." Rapture tilted her head to the side and held up one finger. "A very _specific _method of suicide."

"So, uh, these demons are like ...what exactly?" Fletcher asked, still looking confused.

"Evil creatures from hell?"

Rapture laughed. "Not at all, Fletcher. There is no Heaven and Hell."

"Um, OK then."

"No. They are simply another species of magical creature, although on a more spiritual level than most. While some demons can indeed be evil, not all of them are. And, of course, there are different breeds of demons, much like there are different breeds of dogs or cats,"

"But as I was saying, suicide is the only way for this particular breed of demon to die. Having one demon parent, that rule also applies to me."

"You tried to kill yourself." Skulduggery said suddenly, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Right you are, old friend." Rapture smiled sadly. "Back when I was a vampire, _she _was the dominant personality. I got shoved into some long forgotten corner of my own mind, left to rot while she wreaked havoc upon the world."

"I saw no purpose to this existence, so on the rare occasion I managed to gain control for a few short minutes..." She trailed off, and no-one needed to ask what happened next.

"But it didn't work." Rapture continued. "Something went wrong. My body was damaged, yes, but ultimately my soul remained intact."

"Not being able to stay within the confines of my own body any more, I was forced to evacuate." Rapture picked up her own cup of tea from a spot on the floor and took a sip.

"For a long time I just drifted, quite literally, waiting for my body to repair itself. It took a lot longer than I expected. I got bored."

"You got...bored?" Valkyrie repeated, staring wide-eyed at Rapture, having trouble digesting all this information.

"Indeed, yes. I got bored waiting around, so I possessed the body of a mortal girl."

"A mortal?"

"And she would have remained just so, had I not decided to float on by." Rapture crossed her legs and took another sip of tea. "Unfortunately, my magic had too much of an overwhelming affect on her mind. For all intents and purposes she died that day, and I was left with an empty vessel to control."

"But you lost your memories." Skulduggery added, and Rapture nodded.

"Much knowledge remained, but it still paled in comparison to five thousand years of amassed data. And I of course forgot all about my past life as a vampire."

"That would be terrible. To forget who you are." Valkyrie muttered.

Rapture shrugged. "I didn't know any better. Besides, my past life wasn't exactly anything cheerful. In fact, I was probably better off."

"And then one day almost sixty years ago, all of these memories started sprouting up out of nowhere." Rapture went on to explain the Mjolnir case to Valkyrie and Fletcher, Skulduggery already having explained the whole thing to Ghastly around the point of its happening. She finished up and took another sip of tea; "And after that incident I well and truly quit my job as a detective, instead becoming a mercenary-for-hire. Skulduggery and I saw each other less and less, until one particular case in Russia."

"You mentioned Russia earlier..." Valkyrie voiced aloud, thinking back to what Rapture had said to Baron Stattlich. "And something about Stattlich being there."

"Ah, yes. He was there alright. And also in Venice, on a case Skulduggery and I shared back in the 1930s. The Mjolnir case, too."

"That creepy bastard has been stalking me for almost eight decades."

"And he...wants to return you to your body?" Valkyrie asked, still trying very hard to slot all of this information together. "Which was the body back in his lair?"

"Correct. Judging by the way he spoke to me, and the generous amount of candles scattered around that cylinder, I would guess he worships me as something akin to God."

"And your body. How come it could move at all? It must have something to do with your blood, right?"

"Ah, well. Being my body and all, it automatically recognized the magic _within _the blood, and not the blood itself. Until then, I imagine it was completely inanimate. But now that it's locked onto my magic, it will pursue me relentlessly with the intention of becoming whole once again."

"Well, I was almost right." Valkyrie smiled weakly.

Fletcher frowned. "My head hurts."

"Of course it does." Skulduggery agreed, and then turned his attention back on Rapture.

"So how do we stop it?"

Rapture sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know. I may be strong, but even I can't destroy it. Other than that..."She shrugged.

"Exactly how strong are you, Rapture?" Valkyrie asked curiously.

Grinning, Rapture looked over at her, and Ghastly sighed. "This isn't going to end well, is it?"

"Don't worry, Ghastly." Rapture reassured him. "There are ways to demonstrate my strength without destroying your shop." She plunged one hand into her coat pocket and withdrew a bunch of change. Picking out the thickest coin, she held it between her thumb and forefinger and squeezed. The metal buckled like paper, her fingers squeezing until they almost met in the middle and the coin was shaped like an apple core. "Taa daa~." Rapture hummed.

"That's not so hard." Fletcher declared, fishing a coin from his own pocket and trying to squeeze it between his fingers. The only thing he managed to achieve were a couple of red lines in his thumb and forefinger where the coin had cut into skin.

Valkyrie and Rapture laughed as Fletcher sulked and nursed his sore fingers.

"Don't feel bad." Rapture chuckled, leaning over to clap Fletcher on the shoulder. "I'm not exactly an ordinary human being."

"In fact, you aren't human at all." Skulduggery put in helpfully.

"Thank you for that, Skulduggery. I hadn't noticed."

"You're welcome."

There were a few moments of silence, and then Valkyrie spoke up a little hesitantly.

"I..still can't believe you were a vampire." She glanced at Rapture a little warily.

"Not all of them were the beasts you know, Valkyrie. In fact, the first few generations didn't transform at all." Rapture put down her unfinished tea. "There has always been such heavy prejudice in that respect. It used to be the same way with werewolves, too. Not all of them are evil, and they can't help being what they are, but a lot of people simply jump to conclusions." She turned to look at Skulduggery. "You really should stop filling her head with such discriminatory crap."

Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "I never had anything against werewolves. But vampires _are _evil. They are selfish and violent, and wouldn't hesitate to tear us all apart."

Rapture arched an eyebrow. "Then you've clearly never met my brother. Besides, I'm a vampire too, remember?"

"My point exactly." Skulduggery hummed cheerfully.

"Yes, yes. Very funny." Rapture rolled her eyes and leant an elbow on Ghastly's shoulder, one finger absently tracing the scars on his head. "But anyway-" She stopped when she noticed Valkyrie and Fletcher staring at her. "...What?"

"Uh, what are you doing?" Fletcher asked, looking mildly disgusted.

"I like scars." Rapture smiled. "They fascinate me."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to keep touching my head, Rapture." Ghastly grumbled.

She hummed and ignored him.

Ghastly instead turned to look at Skulduggery. "Would you please tell her to stop?"

"What makes you think that _I _have any control over her?" Skulduggery asked happily.

Valkyrie coughed. "Um, yeah. I think we should leave, before Rapture's body shows up and gives us _all _a bunch of fascinating new scars."

"Even me?" Skulduggery asked, amused.

Valkyrie scowled at him, but he stood before she could answer. "I do agree, though. We should all regroup at my house, you should get some sleep, and then we'll rethink our tactics in the morning."

Rapture leapt down from her spot on the arm of Ghastly's chair, and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I think it should be my house. That way I can go through some of my books and see if there's anything that might be able to help."

Skulduggery thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Right. Rapture's house it is. The Bentley isn't too far from here. We can walk."

Fletcher grumbled.

"Oh come now. The exercise will be good for you."

–

Ghastly stayed behind while the four of them made their way to the Bentley.

As they walked, Valkyrie asked more and more questions about Rapture and her past, all of which Rapture answered happily.

"That symbol in the Baron's lair..." Valkyrie began, and Rapture smiled.

"Ah yes. The Ouroboros, the symbol for eternity. The snake devouring its own tail." She lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. "I don't know how Stattlich learned of my connection to this symbol, but what it is... well, it represents my family, much like a coat of arms."

"Family?" Valkyrie echoed, and Rapture nodded.

"As far as I know, I have no human relatives. I _do_ have both a vampire brother and sister, but we won't go into that now."

"Demons on the other hand..." Her eyes twinkled. "I have six demon siblings, the majority of which are older than me."

"The Ouroboros you saw in my house is used to summon one of them, should I fancy a little chat."

"You can actually do that?" Valkyrie asked, impressed.

"Yes, but only myself or another member of the family. If you tried it, for example, nothing would happen."

"That's pretty cool."

"And a little creepy." Fletcher added.

Rapture's eyes lit up dangerously, and she grinned. "Oh, you have _no _idea."

Fletcher remained quiet after that, and Valkyrie went on to ask Rapture about her original body.

"...but I've never seen anyone so beautiful. And the eyes..." She trailed off.

"Ah yes." Rapture's grin shrank into a smile. "Each demon has one main trait, and my mother was a demon of lust."

"That explains a lot." Skulduggery commented mildly, and Rapture snorted.

"Yes indeed. I suppose I inherited that particular trait from her, and the magic moulded my body accordingly as I grew. As for the eyes..." She tapped her chin. "Hm. Simply think of a Demon-Hound, but replace the feeling of dread and despair with hope and security. In fact, replace it with anything. A demon has the ability to focus their magic to any one point in the body. I used this - or rather _Sarah _used this method with the eyes as a way to manipulate a person's feelings, and even their actions."

"Like, if she'd learnt their true names?" Valkyrie asked.

"Much like that, yes."

"Speaking of names, Skulduggery said earlier that you didn't even bother to take one for a long time." Valkyrie mused.

"I had no need. Demons do not possess true names. I only changed my own to Rapture because Sarah held too many painful memories." She finished her cigarette and dropped it on the floor.

"Demons have no true names as they are born with complete and total access to their magic. They are amongst the very few creatures born with the power to destroy the world."

"Me, on the other hand... being half human made my own magic a little unstable. Which, if you think about it, is probably the main reason my personality decided to split like a banana peel. All it needed was something a little bit tragic to happen, and voilà! Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"Jeez. I do _not_ envy you." Valkyrie muttered, and then suddenly seemed to realize something. "And, uh, if a human learnt their true name..."

"They would have just as much potential to destroy the world." Rapture answered before she could even finish asking. "Yes."

"Oh."

"I see you've been hearing rumours about this Darquesse person aswell." Rapture turned her twinkling gaze on Valkyrie and she felt a little hesitant to even _think _anything, just in case Rapture could really see inside her head.

"It's alright, Valkyrie. I'm not going to tell anyone." She said in hushed tones, smiling warmly. "I mean, I don't exactly have room to talk."

Valkyrie's eyes widened, and she found herself glancing a little frantically over at Skulduggery. Luckily he was busy telling Fletcher to shut up, and hadn't heard Rapture's previous statement. "How do you even know about that?" Valkyrie whispered, shuffling closer to Rapture.

Rapture shrugged. "I'm clever."

"No kidding." Valkyrie breathed.

–

They soon reached the Bentley, and as agreed Skulduggery let Rapture drive, however reluctantly. Valkyrie, far too used to riding shotgun, clambered into the front seat, leaving Skulduggery to sit in the back with Fletcher. About this he grumbled profusely, sulking much like a small child would.

Rapture and Valkyrie easily drowned this out with their own conversation, but Fletcher was left to the verbal abuse Skulduggery flung at him.

"You know," Skulduggery said to Fletcher after a little while. "You're like a verbal punching bag. It's quite therapeutic. Oh, by the way, your hair is stupid."

"Yes, you've told me that six times in the last ten minutes." Fletcher grumbled.

"And I thought I would tell you again, just in case you hadn't heard me the first six times."

"Valkyrie!" Fletcher whined. "He's bullying me again."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes, and Rapture reached back to snatch the hat from Skulduggery's head. "Behave." She warned, amusement clear in her voice. "Or I'll throw it out the window."

Skulduggery crossed his arms and went back to sulking.

"Now, where were we~?" Rapture hummed, returning her attention to Valkyrie.

"Stattlich." Valkyrie reminded her.

"Oh, that's right. He set that Demon-Hound loose on purpose, knowing Skulduggery would come to me for help. The whole thing was one great big trap."

"And we walked straight into it."

"Alright, so we did." Rapture agreed, nodding. "But we also walked straight back out again."

Valkyrie grinned. "We did, didn't we?"

"Don't celebrate just yet. We still need to figure out a way to stop my body, and there's also my darker half to worry about."

"I'm surprised she hasn't put in an appearance already. I mean, from what you've told me of her..."Valkyrie mused.

"There's an easy way to explain that; if she represents my demonic side and all things evil, then I represent the human side and all things...well, I represent the human side." Rapture chuckled. "This particular body being human, I automatically have more control."

"Makes sense." Valkyrie nodded.

"Only in dire situations, when I am either physically or mentally unstable has she taken over before. Which is why I try not to take anything too seriously. Getting worked up, in my case, would be quite disastrous." Rapture hummed a laugh, and it was a little psychotic.

"Are we there yet?" Skulduggery asked childishly from the back seat. Rapture chuckled, and Valkyrie snorted.

–

Once at the gate that eventually lead to Rapture's house, Skulduggery was more than a little reluctant to leave the Bentley behind overnight. Rapture reassured him that no-one else would even be _around_ at the ass-end of nowhere, and the creepy critters living in the forest were all friends of hers anyway. Valkyrie never knew when Rapture was joking, but on this occasion she chose to believe her.

Deciding to put his faith in the car alarm and nothing Rapture had actually said, Skulduggery finally agreed to continue. He strode ahead briskly, declaring there was no time to waste.

Rolling their eyes, the others followed.

–

Rapture's house let them in upon their arrival, giving Valkyrie the strange impression it had a mind of its own. And as they all trudged up the stairs to the second floor, she suddenly seemed to realize just how tired she was. It had been a few nights since she had slept fitfully and her body was in desperate need of a good rest.

Sensing this, Rapture gestured to a door at the end of the corridor. "There's a spare bedroom through there. It has about six king-sized beds, so take your pick. And also an en suite."

Valkyrie almost collapsed with relief. "Thank you." She smiled gratefully.

"You're welcome."

"What about you?" Fletcher asked Rapture. "You look as if you could do with a little R+R."

Valkyrie elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a look.

"Ouch. What?"

Rapture just chuckled. "I think Skulduggery and I are going to stay up and discuss our current- ah...predicament." She glanced at him, and he nodded. "Yes. I think that would be best. You kids get some sleep."

Valkyrie did feel a little bit like a useless child, leaving everything for the adults to deal with. But right at that moment she was too tired to care. "Goodnight." She declared, and then shuffled off towards the bedroom. Fletcher shrugged and then followed.

"Goodnight indeed." Rapture hummed softly once the bedroom door had closed behind them.

"Unless we can think of a plan, it may just be our last."


	12. The Pyramid

_**Egypt, 1990**_

_**Giza**_

_Sarah stood on the banks of the Nile, gazing up at the Great Pyramid with her twinkling emerald eyes. The sun was beginning to set on the pyramid's left side, bathing the sky a beautiful pinkish-red. She went to reach into a pocket for a cigarette, more out of habit than anything else, but discovered there weren't any. Of course. She had quit two years ago, after..._

_Shrugging lightly, Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, once again drawing on her reserve of vampire-magic. It was painful, but she managed._

_Eyes now a faintly glowing crimson, she strode towards the massive stone structure before her, gaze on the ground. It was a little hard to make sense of so many footprints, what with the sand and all, but Sarah succeeded in finding what she was looking for. The distorted footprints seemed to be more condensed in one particular area at the base of the pyramid, and the stone block shimmered slightly in her magically-enhanced vision. _

_Humming her contentment, Sarah strolled over and placed one palm flat against the stone. _

_She frowned slightly in concentration, fingers twitching as she probed the gargantuan slab with her magic, looking for something in particular. Another hum and a smile as something within clicked, causing the shimmering stone to all but fizzle out of existence, revealing a long dark passage into the pyramid._

_Sarah swept inside without so much as a second thought, completely ignoring the stone slab as it reappeared behind her, bathing the passage in complete and total darkness. _

_Night vision kicking in, she set off at a run, barely slowing down upon reaching the narrow set of stairs at the end. They continued on for well over an hour, leading Sarah deeper and deeper into the bowels of the pyramid, far beyond anything the mortal archaeologists had ever discovered. _

_There was more to this wonderful structure than just the King and Queen's chambers._

_The deeper Sarah travelled, the brighter and less faded the pictures and hieroglyphs on the wall became. The strange symbols were automatically translated by her magic, jumping out from the walls and filling her vision. They told of ancient magic, of monsters and Gods. But Sarah ignored them. There were more pressing matters at hand. _

–

_As she neared the very bottom of the stairs, Sarah noted how unusually bright it was. She shut herself off from the reserve of vampire-magic within, eyes instantly reverting back to their usual glittering emerald. _

_But even without the use of her magical eyes it was still just as bright, and as she emerged into the chamber below, discovered why; dozens of huge brass basins lined the stone path that ran down the middle, blazing green fires roaring from each one. Pillars twenty feet high held up the beautifully decorated ceiling, and rectangular alcoves were carved parallel along the walls, a golden and blue sarcophagus propped up in every one. Tall, wide tunnels continued on in all different directions, leading to other parts of the pyramid's underbelly._

_At the head of the room were a dozen or so steps leading up to a large circular platform, something much like a tomb sitting in the middle. The lid lay cracked and broken on the floor a few feet away. The damage looked pretty recent._

_Fingers hovering over one of her weapon belts, Sarah started walking down the right side of the room, eyes darting back and forth for any signs of movement. She flicked out her serpent tongue to taste the air, and a whole host of unusual smells assaulted her senses. One in particular seemed to bother her, although she couldn't quite figure out why. Shaking her head, Sarah put that worry aside and continued. She had a job to do._

_Her tongue disappeared back inside her mouth as she approached one of the Sarcophagi in a nearby alcove. The dusty floor in front of it was disturbed, and the lid was open a couple of centimetres. Fingers curling around the hilt of a dagger on her belt, she crept closer, her other arm outstretched. Standing to one side, she grabbed the lid and tugged, jumping back into a battle-ready stance as it crashed loudly to the floor. _

_When nothing happened, she peered round the alcove to better see what was inside the Sarcophagus. But it turned out to be nothing more than a shrivelled up mummy, bandages hanging from it in limp folds. _

_Arching an eyebrow, Sarah returned her dagger to the weapon belt and turned around, readying herself to continue. That was when two skeletal hands emerged from behind the mummy's shoulders, toppling said mummy straight into Sarah's back and showering her with dust and bits of decaying bandage._

"_BOO!"_

_Without so much as a flinch, Sarah sighed and brushed what appeared to be an ancient, severed finger from her shoulder. "What," she began, turning around on the spot to face Skulduggery Pleasant, whose arms were raised above his head in a scary, threatening manner. "...in the name of Mevolent's over-sized underpants are you _doing_?" _

"_I scared you, didn't I?" Skulduggery said, lowering his arms. "Admit it. You were terrified."_

"_No."_

"_Not even just a little bit?" _

_Sarah grinned despite herself. "What are you doing here, Skulduggery?" _

"_The same thing as you, I should imagine." He stepped out from the Sarcophagus and started to brush the dust from his suit, removing his hat and giving it a little shake while he was at it. _

"_Oh? And what would that b-" _

_A loud crash and a fit of coughing interrupted her, and both she and Skulduggery turned to face the newly opened Sarcophagus that lay in an alcove several metres away. _

_A man stumbled out, his hair and clothes covered in more dust than the mummy he had left behind. "Good God. I thought I was going to suffocate in there." He wheezed, giving his head a good shake, a cloud of dust flying into the air. "Remind me why we were hiding again, Skulduggery? I could have sworn that mummy moved. I felt its hand on my leg, the frisky devil! Although," a chuckle. "Can't say I blame the old gal, after thousands of years being stuck in that dreadful Sarcophagus without any-" And then he seemed to notice Sarah. "Oh!" _

"_This is Gordon Edgely, a friend of mine." Skulduggery introduced, sticking his hands in his pockets as the other man jogged over. "Gordon, this is Sarah." _

"_Are you really!" Gordon beamed, grasping Sarah's hand. "Skulduggery has mentioned you on many occasions, but I must admit.." He looked her up and down with a lopsided grin on his face. "You're not quite what I was expecting."_

_Sarah glanced back at Skulduggery, her emerald eyes twinkling with amusement. _

"_Been casting me in an unflattering light again have we, my dear detective~?" _

"_I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Skulduggery replied innocently. _

_Huffing, Sarah draped her arms around Gordon's shoulders, an expression of mock-hurt forming on her face. "_You _would never lie to me, would you Gordon? Unlike mister meanie-pants over there." She pouted, jerking her head in Skulduggery's direction. _

"_Certainly not, my dear! How could I ever lie to someone so charming and beautiful?" Gordon exclaimed, placing a sneaky hand on Sarah's waist. _

"_That's very sweet of you." She hummed, giving his cheek a quick kiss, a smirk curling at her lips. He chuckled._

"_Yes, well, if you two lovebirds have quite finished," Skulduggery began, turning his gaze on Gordon. "We need to crack on."_

"_Allow me to help. After all, you said yourself how we're both here for the same thing." _

_Sarah added, detaching herself from Gordon and strolling over to Skulduggery. _

"_Out of the question. You would no doubt make things worse." _

"_I'll behave. I _promise_." _

"_No." Skulduggery said firmly._

"_Oh, stop being such a Scrooge." Gordon waved him off with a hand. "Of course Sarah can help us."He winked cheekily at her, and she wiggled her fingers back. _

"_Bah humbug." Skulduggery muttered._

–

_The three of them made their way to the circular platform at the head of the room, Skulduggery a little reluctant to do so with Sarah added to the mix._

"_It's funny..." She began, thumbs hooked around her belt-loops as they ascended the stone steps. "How we keep running into each other like this. First Russia, and now Egypt." A tilt of the head and a thoughtful hum. "Out of all the places to visit in such big countries, we both end up together." _

_Skulduggery opened his jaw to say something, but Sarah interrupted him._

"_And you're not allowed to say it's a coincidence either. Being a detective you should know that better than anyone." _

_Tilting his head to the side, Skulduggery turned to look at her. _

"_What I was _going _to say is that both cases, in Russia and now Egypt, were and _are _pretty big, even if you were hired to investigate a different aspect of the latter. So it is unsurprising the two of us met in the middle, both being the renowned experts in our respective lines of work that we are."_

_Sarah grinned. "You think I'm an expert~?" _

"_At being a lowlife mercenary, yes." _

"_What a lovely compliment. Thank you."_

"_You're welcome."_

"_Hm, that wasn't quite what I was expecting." Gordon interrupted, lifting his head to look at them, which had previously been buried in the open tomb. _

_Sarah glanced at Skulduggery, and she was pretty certain he returned the gesture. _

_They made their way up the last couple of steps and joined Gordon by the tomb. All three of them peered inside to see-_

"_There's nothing here." Gordon stated._

"_Exactly." Sarah frowned. "Notice the symbol on the lid?" She pointed at the cracked and broken stone slab on the floor. A large scarab beetle was carved there. "We were too late."_

_Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Nitocris found what she was looking for." _

"_And there are supposedly hundreds of these tombs dotted all around the pyramid, each one filled with amulets that have the capability to brainwash a person and control their actions." Sarah sighed. "Nitocris intends to create her own personal army of mindless minions."_

"_You sound particularly upset about that." Skulduggery mused. "And you would usually be grinning like a loon right about now." _

"_Yes, well, I can't believe that Nitocris of all people would be so clichéd, so obviously I'm upset."_

"_And you talk as if you know her."_

"_That's because I do, bonehead. She's an old girlfriend." _

_Gordon seemed to look a little disappointed at this, but Sarah didn't correct his assumption about her sexuality. _

"_We dated briefly back in the 1920s." Sarah elaborated, turning on the spot and making her way down the stairs. "And although our time together was short-lived, we didn't half have a lot of fun."_

"_I really, _really_ don't want to know." Skulduggery told her, making his own way down the stairs._

"_Well I certainly do." Gordon piped up as he followed behind, and Sarah chuckled._

"_Nitocris is a powerful sorcerer." She continued, reaching the bottom of the stairs and choosing one of the many tunnels that branched off from the room. "And she's very sneaky."_

_Skulduggery didn't answer, and instead made a point to pick up speed and overtake Sarah as she started jogging down the tunnel. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's mature."_

"_Look who's talking." Skulduggery countered. "Besides, with me in the lead there's less chance of us running into-" The three of them rounded a corner and came face to face with a small group of people. Their faces were expressionless and every single pair of eyes, glowing a faint blue, turned on them. _

"_-trouble." Gordon finished for Skulduggery. "Ah." _

_They all skidded to a halt, Sarah turning her head to look at the skeleton detective. "You were saying?" She smiled pleasantly at him. _

"_Oh, shut up." Skulduggery muttered, pulling his gun from its holster. _

_At first none of the expressionless people moved. They stared a little dumbly at the newcomers, and Sarah could see a strange silver amulet winking from each person's chest. They took on the form of scarab beetles, little legs having poked their way through shirt cloth, and then buried themselves into the flesh beneath. _

_Sarah pulled her dagger from a belt, holding it ready at her side. Gordon looked from Skulduggery's gun to Sarah's dagger and frowned. "Why don't I get a weapon?" _

"_Because you would end up poking your own eye out with it." Skulduggery told him, head still facing the group of brainwashed people, gun never wavering._

"_Even if it were a blunt weapon, such as a club or gun?" Gordon questioned, eyebrow arched._

"Especially _if it were blunt." _

_Gordon started to nod slowly, an agreeing expression on his face. "Can't argue with that, I suppose." _

_One of the brainwashed people stumbled forwards, and the trio returned their attention to him and the group behind. "Urrrghhh." He groaned, arms dangling at his sides._

"_Ooh. Perhaps they are slow and clumsy like zombies?" Gordon said hopefully. _

_It was then the man lunged for Skulduggery, his friends following close behind. They were a lot faster than regular human beings and also decidedly stronger. One caught Skulduggery in the side of the jaw with an elbow, sending him flying back into a wall. His gun went skidding along the floor._

"_You've been flung into walls so many times I've lost count, Skulduggery." Sarah commented mildly, ducking a punch from a brainwashed woman and slashing a cut across her arm. "You must really like them." _

"_Oh, yes. It's something of a hobby of mine." Skulduggery groaned, picking himself up from the floor and leaping into the fight once again. _

_Gordon was having a hard time evading the fast moving opponents, and had already amassed an impressive collection of cuts and scrapes. Sarah noticed this, and as she finished up kicking one of the brainwashed people in the head, turned to face him. "Aren't you a sorcerer?" _

"_Ah." Gordon started rather breathlessly as he dodged a particularly brutal kick just in the nick of time. "Magic certainly is a wily seductress, but so far I have managed to resist her charms."_

"_And yet here you are, neck deep in dust and mummies and brainwashed people, getting beaten to a pulp." Sarah smirked as she barrelled straight into an attacking foe, sending him crashing to the floor. _

"_I thought I was doing rather well, actually." Gordon replied cheerfully, receiving a punch in the face a few seconds later. Sarah snorted, sending the offending woman into a wall with a steel-plated boot. _

_Skulduggery quickly incapacitated the last opponent and, snapping open a palm, his gun flew into his outstretched hand. He returned it to the holster underneath his jacket and turned to face them. "There. That's wasn't so tough." _

_The sound of dozens of feet stampeding across the ground, and a group of brainwashed people three times as big as the last came rushing round the corner. _

"_You should probably keep quiet next time." Sarah suggested, backing up towards Skulduggery and Gordon as the group slowly surrounded them. _

"_Well, this certainly makes a change. It's usually Gordon's abnormally large mouth that gets us both into trouble." Skulduggery commented mildly, and Gordon shrugged._

"_He's right, you know." _

_Sarah grinned, tightening her grip on the dagger in her hand as the brainwashed mob closed in on them, their blue eyes seeming to glow more intensely than before. "So, either of you have any bright ideas? Because we could really use one right about now." _

"_We could always throw a grenade into the crowd and then leg it?" Gordon suggested. _

"_Sorry. Fresh out of grenades." Sarah replied, backing up a little more. The three of them were almost back-to-back now, the space between them making a crooked triangle._

"_That's actually quite surprising." Skulduggery told her, and she chuckled. _

"_Why don't you two talk them to death or something?" _

"_Ha ha."_

"_Or maybe..." Sarah lunged for the nearest drone and curled her fingers around the scarab amulet that was clamped to his chest. Skulduggery caught her wrist with one hand. _

_"Wait. You don't know what it'll do. It could kill him." _

_A shrug. "I guess there's only one way to find out." And Sarah yanked, tearing the scarab away from the flesh it clung to. The man's eyes glowed a dazzling blue for a split-second, causing Gordon to shield his own with a hand. And then, just as quickly, the blue receded and he dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks, quite dead. _

"_Oops." Sarah said casually, and Skulduggery turned his head to look at her. She got the distinct feeling that he was more than a little unimpressed. "What? At least we know forcing the amulets off is a _bad _idea now." She bobbed the little silver beetle up and down in the palm of her hand, and then pocketed it. _

"_All those in favour of running like hell, raise your hand and say 'aye'."_

"_Aye!" Gordon exclaimed, but Skulduggery was silent. And, remaining silent, he raised both arms. Upon snapping open his palms, a wall of air went knocking into a large portion of the brainwashed men and women, sending them flying backwards. A path now mostly clear to them, the trio continued on down the tunnel, jumping over fallen people as they tried to get back up again. _

–

_Skulduggery, Gordon and Sarah eventually managed to lose their mindless pursuers, ducking into a small room with a narrow doorway to avoid being rediscovered any time soon. While Gordon leant against one wall catching his breath, Skulduggery approached Sarah._

"_What happened back there..." He started, arms folded. "That's the exact reason I didn't want you tagging along in the first place." _

"_What did you expect?" Sarah muttered, pulling the scarab beetle amulet from her pocket, turning it round and round in her fingers. "That's just the way I am. A vampire. A selfish, violent beast with no regard for others." _

"_Sarah-"_

"_You think that of other vampires. Why should I be any different?" She interrupted, tapping the amulet with a long nail. "But never mind that now. What's done is done, and we at least have one of the amulets. Perhaps we can study it for vulnerabilities, give ourselves a fighting chance the next time we come across any brainwashed people ." _

_Skulduggery stared at her with his empty eye sockets for a moment, and then nodded once._

"_Let's get to it, then." _

_Having recovered a little, Gordon walked over and peered at the amulet in Sarah's hand curiously. _

"_Strange little thing, isn't it?" He commented, reaching out a hand to touch. "And rather innocent looking. You wouldn't think-" The words died in his throat when the amulet starting pulsating with a gentle blue light. "Ah. Should it be doing that?"_

"_I know as much as you, Gordon." Skulduggery replied with a shrug. "Perhaps it's shutting itself down, in a manner of speaking." There was a brief pause, and then Skulduggery and Sarah turned to look at each other. _

"_Or switching itself on." They said simultaneously, Sarah dropping the amulet a few seconds later, looking as if she had been shocked. It landed on the dusty floor with a 'whump', scurrying out of sight before anyone could move. _

"_The little bugger is alive." Sarah broadcast rather unnecessarily, bringing her hand up to her lips and licking the spot where the beetle had nipped her. _

"_Thank you for that, Little Miss Obvious." Skulduggery muttered, casting his head about for the beetle. "Just stay still. We need to find and capture it again, before it can latch onto any of us."_

_Sarah narrowed her eyes at him, pupils contracting into slits, but did as she was told and remained perfectly still. The three of them scanned the room, Gordon looking a little nervous. _

"_Err-" He began, but was cut off for the second time in as many minutes when something small and silver leapt into his vision. Gordon looked down at the scarab amulet that had attached itself to his chest, his eyebrows flying up. "Um, I don't mean to alarm you or anything, but...Alright, so perhaps I do. I found the beetle."_

_Skulduggery and Sarah whipped round to face him, Sarah narrowing her eyes and baring her teeth like a cat. "Well, shit."_

"_That...just about sums it up." Skulduggery said slowly, shifting into a battle-ready stance as Gordon's eyes started to glow blue. "Gordon?" He tried, but the man was no longer aware. He stared at them with emotionless eyes, his face devoid of any expression. _

"_Now would be a good time to figure out how those amulets actually work." Sarah hummed, skirting round Gordon with light footsteps._

"_When I called you Little Miss Obvious," Skulduggery began, flexing the fingers on one hand and curling them into a fist. "I honestly didn't expect you to take the title so seriously." _

_A shrug and a grin from Sarah. "Yeah, well, you know me. I take everything way too seriously." _

_Gordon lunged forwards all of a sudden, punching Skulduggery in the head, who went staggering back. Sarah ducked another punch and brought one of her own up into Gordon's stomach. _

_It didn't appear to do a whole lot. "Ah." She managed to say, before a knee connected with the underside of her jaw and she went flying back into a wall._

"_I didn't know you shared my hobby of getting thrown into walls, Sarah. What a small world we live in." Skulduggery commented happily, snapping a palm wide and sending Gordon skidding back. Grumbling, Sarah righted herself and charged the brainwashed man, bringing a fist round to punch him square in the face. His head snapped back, but he remained conscious. _

"_Are you quite sure you hit him hard enough?" Skulduggery teased, and Sarah shrugged. _

"_I could try again, if you really want me to start breaking things."_

_Gordon tried to rush them, but Skulduggery and Sarah leapt out of the way, leaving him to charge straight by. Sarah brought up one hand to grip him by the collar, jerking him back. _

"_Well, trying to knock him out certainly doesn't work, and something tells me he's not going to stop until the both of us are dead." She pulled an old flintlock pistol from her belt and primed it to fire. _

"_Sarah, what are you doing?" Skulduggery asked slowly, his voice low and serious as she pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of Gordon's head. "Put it down." _

_A shrug. "It's him or us, Skulduggery." Her finger tightened on the trigger, and-_

_Distressed chittering filled the air, followed by the sound of something small and heavy dropping to the ground. Gordon's shoulders seemed to relax, and he shook his head. _

"_Let's see...a pounding headache and no recollection of what happened." He muttered. "Did I get drunk, Skulduggery? It's funny, because I don't remember there being a bar anywhere in the pyramid." Turning round on the spot, Gordon found himself staring down the barrel of Sarah's gun._

"_Ah. Look, whatever I did to offend you in my drunken stupor, I'm sure we can work it out."_

_He glanced down to look at his front and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well, at least my clothes are still on. Whatever it was, it can't have been _too_ embarrassing or humiliating."_

_Chuckling, Sarah lowered her gun and slotted it back into her belt. "Welcome back, Gordon."She moved round him and crouched down, scooping up the scarab amulet, which had detached itself from Gordon's chest. "I think that went rather well." _

"_Better than expected." Skulduggery agreed with a nod of the head. _

_Sarah stood back up and turned to face him, a grin on her face. "I love how we can formulate a plan together without actually having to speak. That's how like-minded we are." _

"_Are you kidding? I actually thought you were going to kill him." Skulduggery replied, and Sarah snorted. _

"_Kill me?" Gordon echoed. "That's a bit drastic, don't you think? I didn't even get naked."_

"_You weren't drunk, Gordon." Sarah chuckled, opening a small pouch on her belt and slipping the silver beetle inside. "You were taken over by the scarab." _

"_And we now know that if the host dies, so will the scarab." Skulduggery added, crossing his arms._

"_So that's why you had a gun to my head." Gordon said slowly, understanding. "You and Sarah got the scarab believing she was actually going to kill me, causing it to flee. Self-preservation and all that." _

"_Precisely~." Sarah hummed, walking over to the doorway. "Now, we should get moving. Nitocris is somewhere in the pyramid, and we have to find her._

–

_A great many scents lingered in the stale air of the ancient pyramid's underbelly, the bothersome one from earlier now more prominent than the rest. And it was with great effort Sarah managed to single out Nitocris from such a diverse jumble of smells. _

_As the three of them ran through numerous winding passages, Sarah at the lead as she followed the scent, Gordon shuffled over."Just a thought, my dear..." He began with a smile. "But what if you had been wrong back there, and it made no difference to the scarab whether I lived or died?"_

_A shrug and a grin from Sarah. "Then I would have been minus a bullet, and you would have been minus a brain." _

_Gordon nodded once, and then slowed his pace a little so he was jogging alongside Skulduggery. "You know, I was beginning to wonder if _anything _you had told me about her was true." He said in a low voice."But I see now that you weren't being entirely untruthful." _

_Skulduggery tilted his head slightly, and Gordon got the distinct impression he was smiling. _

"_You boys had best stop talking about me." Sarah called, amusement clear in her voice. "Or I'll knock your heads together." She glanced back at the duo and they both raised one hand to point at the other._

"_It was him." They said simultaneously, and Sarah rolled her eyes, albeit with a smile on her face. Without warning she stopped dead, causing Gordon to trip over his own feet as he struggled to stop. "What-" He began, but Sarah cut him off._

"_She's close. Listen." _

_Gordon righted himself, and together with Skulduggery listened out for noises. There, echoing from the tunnel up ahead was a female voice that boasted a large amount of authority. She barked out orders to a group of people who all seemed to obey without question._

"_Aah, Nitocris~." Sarah hummed fondly. "She hasn't changed." _

"_There will be time enough for reminiscing later." Skulduggery interjected. "Right now we have to stop her before she can build up an army of considerable size."_

_Sarah shrugged and walked over to the nearest wall and, with her back against it, started shuffling down the tunnel. She stopped after a few paces, turning back to look at Skulduggery and Gordon. "Well, are you coming or not?" _

"_I don't see why _you _should be in the lead." Skulduggery grumbled childishly, but pressed his back against the wall and started side-stepping along it anyway. Gordon followed suit._

"_Because I know the most about Nitocris." _

"_Ah. I knew there was a reason." _

_Sarah smirked. "Speaking of which, Nitocris isn't all that keen on people of your-ah..."_

"_Sunny disposition?" Skulduggery offered cheerfully._

"_Gender." Sarah corrected. "So you should just leave the talking to me."_

"_What a coincidence." Skulduggery muttered. "And it's also quite clear she has never met me, being less inclined to persons of the male variety as she is."_

"_I mean it, Skulduggery." Sarah warned. "If you want to remain alive, in the loosest possible term of the word, then .jaw._shut_."_

_Skulduggery raised his hands in surrender, and then moved one of those hands to the side of his head in a mock-salute. "Yes ma'am."_

_Rolling her eyes, Sarah continued on down the tunnel at a slow pace, all the while listening out for Nitocris as she gave orders to her minions; "You there! Go and search for the intruders. The last group has not yet returned, and my patience wears thin." _

_A figure hurried past the entrance of the tunnel, and Sarah stopped walking. She held out a hand for the others to do the same, but Gordon still managed to walk straight into Skulduggery._

"_Ow!" He yelped in a hushed tone, clutching his eye. "You have extremely sharp shoulder blades, Skulduggery. I'm lucky I didn't poke my eye out."_

"_In case you hadn't noticed, Gordon, I am a skeleton." Skulduggery paused, and then turned back to look at him. "And that has just reinforced my point about you carrying a weapon. God knows what would happen if someone gave you a knife."_

_Gordon waved him off with his free hand. "Yes, yes. I know. But it _would _be useful, is all I'm saying. I might not get punched in the face nearly as much." _

"_I don't know what all the fuss is about. Getting beaten up is half the fun." Skulduggery replied cheerfully. _

"_You won't be saying that in a moment if you don't shut up." Sarah interrupted, grinning a sharp-toothed grin, her eyes twinkling dangerously. "But,"a shrug. "Seeing as that's never going to happen, we may aswell throw subtlety out the window." _

_And she sprinted the length of the tunnel and out into a large room, barrelling past a group of brainwashed people, knocking two of them to the floor. All eyes were now on Sarah as she jogged to the centre with her arms spread wide. "Honey, I'm home~!" _

_Nitocris, who was seated on a large golden throne at the head of the room, peered down at her and smiled. "Sarah, my love. You are finally here." _

_She was a beautiful woman with olive coloured skin, shoulder-length black hair that was braided and decorated with many golden beads, and a fringe that stopped just above her eyes. The eyes themselves were a rich chocolate brown, but the pupils glittered a startling gold. She wore traditional Egyptian eye liner, or 'Kohl', and her lips were painted to suit her theme of gold. A thick band made of the same precious metal was clamped around her neck, and a bulky collar encrusted with turquoise rested against the top of her rib cage. From there on up, she looked very much like a Pharaoh of old. But that's where it stopped; knee-high black boots hugged her slender legs, the soles chunky and the metal heels carved to sharp points. She wore leather short shorts and a top to match, with red lace criss-crossing its front, barely containing her generous sized chest._

"_I've been expecting you." Nitocris continued, pushing herself into a standing position and strolling over to where Sarah stood. "In fact, you're late. I was starting to get rather bored."_

"_Late?" Sarah questioned, eyebrow raised. _

"_Expecting her?" Skulduggery added, having made his way into the room with Gordon. The pair of them now stood several metres away, flanked by dozens of brainwashed people who were all looking to Nitocris for instructions. Her top lip twitched slightly, but that was the only reaction she gave to Skulduggery and Gordon's presence. _

"_Never mind them." Sarah waved a hand in their general direction, draping her other arm around the Egyptian woman's shoulders. "Now, rumour is..." Her emerald eyes twinkled mischievously. "That _you-_" She brought up her free hand to tap Nitocris gently on the shoulder with a single finger. "-are planning to go after the Irish Sanctuary with your little army of brainwashed people." _

"_Is it really?" Nitocris purred, smirk twitching at her lips. "And do you have any idea _where _this rumour started?" _

_Sarah stared at her for a few seconds, and then retracted the arm from her shoulders. _

"_You started the rumour." It wasn't a question._

"_Indeed, my love. A threat on your beloved Irish Sanctuary was the only sure way to gain your attention." _

"_Why didn't you just give me a phone call, like everybody else who wants to get in touch?" Sarah arched an eyebrow. "I would have come to see you."_

_A shrug from Nitocris. "Would you have, though?" _

_Sarah frowned._

"_If there is one thing I learnt from our time together, it is that you are constantly moving forward, never looking back. We all just get left behind."Nitocris continued, observing Sarah with her glittering golden pupils for a reaction._

_Sarah's frown deepened, but she didn't answer. _

"_But never mind that." Nitocris smiled. "You are here now, and that is all that matters."_

"_Wonderful. Just wonderful." Skulduggery interrupted, throwing up his arms in exasperation. "We came all the way to Egypt so that Sarah could go on a _date."

_Nitocris glanced at Skulduggery and Gordon, but otherwise ignored them. "Those two _men_..."She began, curling her lip in distaste at the word. "Are they with you?" _

_Sarah chuckled."Unfortunately." She then diverted her attention to the brainwashed people in the room. "But what about all this? That's an awful lot of trouble to go to, just for me." _

"_Oh, that's all just theatrics." Nitocris waved a casual, dismissive hand and started to circle Sarah with heavy footsteps, her metal heels clacking against the stone floor. She came full circle and stopped, standing a foot away from the black-haired sorcerer, face to face. They simply stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, Sarah's pupils contracting into slits. When nobody made a move, Skulduggery turned on his heel and started to walk away. _

"_I'm leaving." He declared, waving a hand over his shoulder. "You two have fun with your date."_

_Sarah and Nitocris ignored him and instead launched themselves at each other, lips mashing together in a flurry of passion. _

_Gordon glanced back at Skulduggery and hesitated. "...Are you absolutely _sure_ we have to leave just yet?" He returned his attention to the kissing women and sighed. "I suppose that's one down side about going on adventures with a dead man." Shuffling backwards, he reluctantly followed after the skeleton detective as he made his way over to the tunnel entrance._

_Grinning, Nitocris pulled away from the kiss and brought up a fist to punch Sarah right in the face. She stumbled back, but returned the grin with a slightly breathless laugh, swinging a punch of her own. It soon broke out into a full-scale fight, but still Skulduggery walked, completely ignoring them both. _

"_Stop them!" Nitocris called, momentarily withdrawing from her fight with Sarah, the turquoise gems in her collar glowing a brilliant blue. The brainwashed people all turned to face Skulduggery and Gordon, three of them moving to block the tunnel entrance. _

"_These men have offended me with their presence." _

_Skulduggery stopped and turned back to face Nitocris, head cocked to one side. _

"_Let me get this straight." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Gordon and I offend you with our presence...so you _prevent _us from leaving? I don't know about you, but that seems a tad contradictory to me." _

"_Kill these idiots." Nitocris commanded, and the brainwashed people dashed Skulduggery and Gordon, blue eyes glowing intensely. _

"_You should have taken my advice." Sarah called, laughing as Skulduggery readied himself for a fight. "Keep your big ol' jaw shut next time, m'kay~?" _

"_And perhaps you should pay more attention to your surroundings." He replied, ducking a punch from one of the brainwashed people and flipping them over his hip. Sarah raised an eyebrow and turned just in time to see the point of a heel come flying into her vision. She dropped into a roll, missing the sharpened metal by a hair's breadth._

"_Oi oi, that was a close one!" She laughed a little psychotically, flipping the right way up and springing to her feet as Nitocris landed on her own._

_A shrug and a smirk. "You weren't paying attention." The Egyptian woman turned and slowly raised her arms, upturned fists clenched tightly. _

"_True. Very true." Sarah nodded, glancing at the collar she wore around her neck. "But that isn't the issue here. Gordon and Skulduggery may be idiots, but you know I can't just let you kill my friends." _

"_Of course. This controls the amulets." Nitocris tapped the collar casually. "Come and get it..." She quickly uncurled her fingers, two golden snakes springing from her palms and flying straight for Sarah. "If you can!" _

_Sarah sidestepped one of the golden snakes and it flew harmlessly past. The other she grabbed by the neck and swung it in a half-circle, sending the hissing serpent right back at Nitocris. _

_With one arm still raised, she absorbed it back into her palm. "Come." She beckoned to the remaining snake, but it lay on the floor behind Sarah, thrashing around and hissing wildly._

"_It's frightened." Sarah stated, brow furrowed. "Something is coming." She flicked out her serpent tongue to taste the air. _

"_What is it?" Nitocris questioned, but Sarah shook her head. _

"_I'm not sure, but its scent has been bothering me since I arrived." She crouched down next to the thrashing snake and tried to calm it. She muttered soothing words of magic, and placed one hand upon its scaly head. Still a little nervous, it slithered up Sarah's arm and came to rest across her shoulders. "Call off your minions, Nitocris. Something more serious is going on here." _

"_Very well, Sarah. But only because it is you." She turned to look at the group of brainwashed people trying to kill Skulduggery and Gordon. "Stop!" _

_The collar glowed once again, and every single person under its influence obeyed immediately._

_Gordon, who had screwed his eyes shut against the oncoming assault of mindless drones, cracked one open to see a clenched fist mere centimetres from his nose. "Ah." _

_Skulduggery, who held his own fists in a defensive position, stopped to look around. _

"_Why aren't you all trying to kill us? I was rather enjoying myself." _

"_Save the sarcastic comments for later, Skulduggery." Sarah told him, walking over. "Right now we have a bigger problem." She flicked her tongue out again, trying to pinpoint the bothersome scent. "Something is headed this way. Something big, and I think it intends to kill us all." _

"_Oh, so no different from Nitocris, then?" Skulduggery lowered his arms and straightened out his tie. "My day couldn't possibly get any better."_

"_She wasn't _actually _going to kill you. The both of us used to get into fights like this all the time."_

_Sarah walked over to the nearest wall and placed one palm flat against it, eyes scanning over the hieroglyphs. "Now shut up. I'm trying to concentrate. We're not alone down here, and I have a feeling these hieroglyphs will reveal the identity of our company." _

_Nitocris strolled over to Skulduggery while Sarah studied the wall, hands clasped behind her back and head tilted back slightly so she was looking down her nose at him. "I _was_ going to kill you, by the way. Just thought you should know that." _

"_How very kind." _

"_I was going to have my minions tear your very bones apart." She added, golden pupils twinkling dangerously. _

"_Such a charming woman you are." _

"_Play nice, you two. Don't make me come back there." Sarah called, eyes now a faintly glowing red. "Mama's workin'." She frowned as her fingers brushed past a particular cluster of hieroglyphs. _

"_Uh-oh." Her expression changed somewhat as she read the symbols on the wall, shifting from one of concentration to one of mild concern. _

"_The words 'uh-oh' coming from you, Sarah, don't exactly fill me with confidence." Skulduggery commented, ignoring the daggers Nitocris was glaring at the back of his head and walking over._

"_That's probably a sensible reaction..." Sarah agreed, nodding slowly. "On another note; we're all going to die." _

"_What is it? What did you find?" Nitocris asked, joining the other two by the wall and peering at the hieroglyphs by Sarah's hand. She blinked. "Uh-oh."_

"_You can read hieroglyphics?" Gordon asked curiously, walking over to complete their little group._

"_My great-grandmother was an Egyptian Pharaoh. Of course I can read hieroglyphics." Nitocris looked at Gordon like he was a complete and total moron, but he didn't seem to mind._

"_Yes, and what do they say?" Skulduggery prompted, getting impatient. _

"_These lower chambers serve as a home to an ancient, virtually indestructible creature, and its main job is to protect the amulets." Sarah explained. _

"_And Nitocris disturbed the amulets, so now it's after us." Skulduggery concluded. "That's great. Just perfect." He turned to look at Sarah. "I blame you." _

"What_? It's not as if I knew what was going to happen. You can't blame me!" She rounded on him, eyes a blazing red. "Drop dead, numbskull." _

"_Already have done."_

"_Encore!"_

"_Look at this." Nitocris interrupted in a low, serious voice, luckily before things could get too ugly._

_She had crouched down next to the wall and was examining one particular patch that had been hastily scrawled on in what looked like blood. "No hieroglyphs this time. It's in Arabic." _

_Sarah took a deep breath and shook her head, crouching down next to Nitocris to look at the bloody writing. She spent a moment reading over it, and arched an eyebrow._

"_What does this one say?" Gordon asked, head tilted to the side. _

"_It's a warning." Sarah told him. "Looks like the last sorcerer to come down here happened across the creature, which apparently abandoned its job of protecting the amulets a little over a hundred years ago. It's been trying to escape the pyramid ever since." She peered up at Skulduggery. "See? It's not my fault. This creature has been on a rampage for a hundred years." _

"_I still blame you." Skulduggery stated. "If you had bothered to stay in touch with Nitocris, she wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to get you here. _I _wouldn't be here. This has been a complete waste of time."_

"_Is that really all you're bothered about? " Sarah hissed. "Well sorry to _inconvenience _you, Mr. Pleasant, but that's just how I am. I go around ruining people's lives, remember?" _

"_Oh, I remember all right. And not a day goes by I don't want to wrap my fingers around your throat and choke the life right from you." Skulduggery snapped, and Gordon's eyebrows flew up. _

"_Come on Skulduggery. That's taking it a bit too far, don't you think?" _

"_Not with her it isn't." He muttered. _

"_So why don't you just come over here and kill me?!" Sarah threw up her arms, the expression on her face quite demented. _

"_Don't tempt me." _

"_I'll tempt you all I want. Bring it!" _

_CRASH._

_Skulduggery and Sarah immediately ceased their argument, turning in the general direction of the noise. Nitocris and Gordon did the same. Only the brainwashed people remained perfectly still._

_CRASH._

_The noise was getting closer and Nitocris narrowed her eyes, getting into a battle-ready stance. "The creature has found us." _

_CRASH._

_The entrance to the nearest tunnel exploded outwards, bits of rubble flying every which way and crushing the group of people that were standing before it. From the settling dust emerged a creature, and at first glance it looked to be nothing more than an ordinary lion, if not abnormally large in size. But on second glance, one would notice the feathery head and sharp, curved beak . The scaly bird forelegs, and eagle wings that sprouted from its back._

"_A griffin. I honestly thought they were extinct..." Sarah said slowly, staring up at the majestic creature with admiration. "It's beautiful." _

_The griffin shrieked loudly, its orb-like eyes narrowing to glare at the small group by the wall._

"_And it's also going to kill us." Skulduggery added. "I think we should probably run." _

_Shrieking again, the griffin lunged for them and they were forced to separate. Gordon and Nitocris flung themselves in one direction, while Skulduggery and Sarah leapt in the other. _

_The griffin collided with the wall in between, making a large crater upon impact. It shook its head, dazed, and Skulduggery took this opportunity to pull his gun from its holster and fire off a couple of shots. This only seemed to further provoke the eagle-headed lion. It screeched loudly, swinging a scaly paw at Skulduggery as it finally righted itself. He barely managed to dodge the razor sharp talons as they sliced through the air, making deep gouges in a nearby wall._

_Nitocris summoned a dozen golden snakes and they all surged at the griffin, hissing loudly, fangs bared. The one draped around Sarah's neck joined the fight, but was easily torn apart by the griffin's powerful beak, along with its fellows. _

_Skulduggery put his gun away and summoned a fireball in each hand, but Sarah threw herself between him and the griffin. "Wait! Don't hurt it." _

"_Move, Sarah!" Skulduggery ordered. "Do you want it to kill us?"_

"_At least let me try to reason with it first." She slowly approached the creature, her red eyes glowing faintly. It screeched and raked its talons across the stone floor, sending sparks up into the air. "I'm a friend." Sarah told it, her tone calm and friendly. "I'm not going to hurt you." _

_The griffin screeched again, a little louder than before. _

"_He's not listening." She told the others. _

"_What a surprise." Skulduggery muttered. _

"_Well, he hasn't exactly had a good experience with humans. They trapped him here, thousands of years ago, just to guard those damn amulets. He only wants to be free." Sarah growled. _

"_Yes, but what would happen if it were to get free?" _

_Shaking its head wildly, the griffin shrieked and snapped its beak threateningly. _

"_'Tear every human limb from limb'." Sarah translated slowly. "And I honestly don't blame him."_

"_You know we can't allow that to happen. We can't allow it to get free." Skulduggery told her, the flames in his hands still burning brightly. _

_Sarah shrugged. "You're on your own, Skulduggery. I'm outta here." And she turned to leave, ignoring the griffin as it screeched after her. Nitocris glanced once at the massive creature, and then made to follow Sarah as she walked over to the nearest accessible tunnel. _

_Cursing, Skulduggery threw both fireballs at the griffin, but it shook them off like it was nothing. _

_Now angrier than ever it dived for Skulduggery, talon tipped toes reaching for him, beak wide open and ready to crush his bones to dust. He splayed his palms wide, sending a solid wall of air at the griffin, but the only thing it seemed to do was send a slight ripple through its feather-fur combination. _

"_Skulduggery!" Gordon yelled, but the skeleton detective had no time to move out the way. _

_A black blur and he was knocked aside, the griffin colliding with the figure that had taken his place. Its powerful beak clamped around their waist upon impact, slicing through flesh and bone, sending them both skidding across the floor. _

_Sarah, with her arms spread wide, looked up slowly, the blood flowing from between her clenched teeth. "OK. I gotta admit. That one _hurt._"_

_As Skulduggery groaned and picked himself up from the floor, Gordon stared wide-eyed at Sarah and Nitocris was running towards her. "Sarah!" She yelled, not quite understanding how the black-haired sorcerer was still alive. The griffin had almost severed her clean in two, and yet she was still standing. _

"_Let me go." Sarah gurgled, her eyes glowing more brightly than before. "_Now._"_

_The griffin released its hold on her and backed up quickly, feathery ears flattening against its head._

_Sarah smiled weakly, her body already starting to repair itself. "Good boy." And she promptly collapsed. Eyes widening, Nitocris rushed to catch her, almost slipping in the pool of blood that had gathered by her feet. _

–

_Sarah awoke with golden beads in her face. She looked up to see Nitocris leaning over her, concern in her eyes. "I'm sort of afraid to breathe in. You know, just in case I inhale your hair. I might choke." She hummed, a grin on her face. _

"_You're awake!" Nitocris exclaimed, and Sarah couldn't help but laugh. _

"_Actually, it's just sleep-sarcasm. Sort of like sleep-walking, but more...sarcastic." She muttered, one eye screwed shut, and the other only open a crack. _

_Nitocris laughed. "I am relieved. For a moment there, I thought you would not wake at all." _

"_Well, you know me." Sarah opened her eyes fully and pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing slightly as her stomach folded. "Too stubborn to die." _

"_Indeed." A warm smile from Nitocris, her golden pupils twinkling. "So tell me...how did you heal? It was like no magic I have ever seen." _

"_Ah." Sarah shakily got to her feet, both arms unfolding to steady herself. "It's kind of a long story."_

"_I've got time." _

"_Then perhaps later, over dinner?" _

"_It's a date." Nitocris reached behind her neck, unclasping the collar that rested there. "Here. You had best take this back to your Irish Sanctuary or I might be tempted to use it again." A mischievous grin as she handed it over to Sarah._

"_Thank you." _

_She chuckled and glanced around the trashed room. Skulduggery was stood next to the golden throne, while Gordon sat on the ground before it. The griffin lay several metres away, wiggling its feathery ears and flapping its wings nervously. _

_Sarah arched an eyebrow and Nitocris seemed to notice. "Hm, yes. The griffin has been like that ever since you passed out. I think it is worried about you." She looked slightly disbelieving, even as she said these words. _

"_Looks like I've made a new friend." Sarah started walking over to the griffin, wobbling precariously as she went. "Hey buddy." She greeted upon reaching the agitated beast, and its ears instantly perked up. It got to its feet and bounded over to Sarah, rubbing one feathery cheek against her own, making a strange sort of purring noise. She laughed, her free hand coming up to scratch behind its ears. The griffin wiggled its head happily and continued to purr, eyelids fluttering half-closed. _

"_Are you going to behave now?" _

_An obedient scree. _

"_Now more trying to hurt my friends, right?" _

_Another wiggle of the head. _

"_And if I free you from this pyramid, will you promise to behave?" _

_The griffin started jumping up and down on the spot excitedly, so Sarah took that as a yes. _

"_Good, good!" She chuckled. "I have a- ah...friend you can stay with. I sent him away to keep him safe. So far as I know, he's the last of his kind. You two should get on well together." _

_Leaving the griffin to take off and do something much like a victory lap around the room, giant wings buffeting everyone with a cool blast of air, Sarah made her way over to Gordon and Skulduggery. She sat down in the golden throne and looked up at her old friend, who was apparently staring down a nearby tunnel. "Are you alright?" _

_He didn't answer for a long while, but eventually turned to look at her. "Why did you save me?" _

_Leaning on the arm of the throne to prop herself up, Sarah brought one hand to the back of Skulduggery's head and slapped it, knocking off his hat. "Idiot. You're my best friend and I love you."_

"_Even after what I said earlier?" _

_A shrug from Sarah. "I know you didn't mean it." _

"_But what if I did?" _

"_Then I wouldn't blame you." Sarah smiled and stood up, leaning over to kiss Skulduggery on the cheek bone before turning to leave. _

_She said goodbye to Gordon, who seemed to be coping surprisingly well with the whole thing. _

"_Goodbye my dear! This was all such a wonderful adventure, but I shall probably just stay home next time." He chuckled, and went on to mutter about how the whole thing would make an excellent novel. Still smiling, Sarah continued on her way, the griffin landing clumsily and charging off ahead, Nitocris following after it. _

_Before Sarah could start walking down the tunnel after them, a skeletal hand caught her turned back to see Skulduggery standing before her, head cocked to one side. _

"_...I didn't mean those things." He said after a pause, and Sarah smiled. _

"_I know." She moved in for a hug, and Skulduggery wrapped his bony arms around her. "So I guess this means we've made up now, huh?" _

"_I guess so." _

"_Good." Sarah grinned, withdrawing from the hug. "We still don't have to see each other, but as long as we're friends again, that's all that matters."She handed the collar to him. "And you had better take this. It's used to control the amulets, and leaving it with someone like me is probably a bad idea." _

"_I couldn't agree more." _

_Laughing, Sarah turned back to face the tunnel and started walking down it, waving a lazy goodbye to Skulduggery over her shoulder._

"_Catch you later, bonehead." _


	13. A Spark of Hope from our Scaly Friend

Skulduggery sat at Rapture's desk, a pile of open books spread out before him. Rapture herself sat cross-legged on the bed, an equal number of books scattered all around her. After a few minutes, she frowned at the large volume in her hands and snapped it closed.

"Nothing." She muttered. "Absolutely nothing."

"Same here." Skulduggery added, looking up from the book he was reading. "We're not going to get anywhere like this."

Rapture looked over at him. She stared for a few moments, and then..."I can see it, you know."

"See what?" Skulduggery cocked his head to the side. "How truly amazing and wonderful I am? How lucky youare to know me?"

"Yes, that too." Rapture hummed a laugh and got up from her spot on the bed. She strolled over and casually took a seat on Skulduggery's lap before he could protest. "Ooh, you're not very comfortable."

"Well, I _am _a skeleton."

"I'd noticed."

"And yet people seem to keep on forgetting that little detail."

Rapture smiled strangely, shifting her gaze from the spot just above Skulduggery's head to the air above his shoulders. "That encounter with my body must have somehow awakened a larger portion of my magic."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can see your consciousness floating all around you. It really is quite wonderful. Beautiful." Rapture traced her fingers lightly through the air in front of Skulduggery, and he shuddered involuntarily.

"Rapture-" Skulduggery started, but she placed a hand over the front of his jaw.

"Ironically, no matter how wonderful this new-found magic is, it's killing me all the more quickly." Rapture smiled sadly. "I can feel it. This body was never meant to contain the magic of a demon, and it is slowly being torn apart." She removed her hand from Skulduggery's jaw. "Even if we _do _somehow manage to get out of this mess, I won't have long left."

"Couldn't you simply possess another body, as you did before?" Skulduggery asked.

"I fear it won't be as simple this time round. My own body is fully repaired now, so my soul will automatically lock onto it." Rapture sighed. "And once I'm back with my own body, _she'll _have more control. It will go back to the way it was, before this whole thing even happened."

"She may be strong, Rapture, but so are you. Don't ever forget it." Skulduggery told her, and Rapture smiled.

"Thank you for that, Skulduggery." She observed him curiously for a few moments, and then placed a palm flat against his forehead. "Hmm...I wonder if I can..."

"What are you-"

"Ahah!"

Skulduggery suddenly froze, and Rapture watched as the swirling colour all around him that was his consciousness started to withdraw into his skull. Muscle and sinew sprang to life across his bones, knitting together. Skin started to form, and so did hair.

After ten seconds had passed, a fully living and breathing Skulduggery blinked up at her with eyes the colour of a stormy sea.

"But how did you...?" He muttered blankly, taking an experimental breath.

Rapture shrugged lightly and smiled. "I returned your consciousness to where it's supposed to be. From there, recreating the flesh was easy. All of that data was still stored within you. I simply accessed it and brought it to the surface." She observed him with twinkling eyes, head tilted to one side. "You know...you always told me how amazingly handsome you were. I never actually believed you, but," a chuckle. "I guess I was wrong."

"Which proves my point that you really should listen to me more often." And Skulduggery smiled for the first time in centuries.

"But will this last? Because I've grown rather accustomed to being a skeleton. "

Rapture shook her head. "This isn't permanent. I would estimate my magic being able to keep up your current living status for around ten minutes." A smirk curled at her lips. "Unless I'm making and maintaining direct contact with you, of course."

"Of course." Skulduggery echoed, arching an eyebrow. "How convenient." He reached up to take the hat from his head and placed it on the desk. Rapture watched curiously as he fiddled with the dark tufts of hair that had sprouted from his scalp, twisting them between his fingers and tugging on the ends. After a few moments, he paused and looked up at her.

"...I missed having hair. Actual, proper hair. _My _hair."

"I can see that." Rapture chuckled, and then suddenly pressed a kiss to his lips.

Skulduggery leant away from her in the chair, hand coming back down to rest at his side.

"That really isn't such a good idea, Rapture." He stated. "We don't have the time."

Rapture arched an eyebrow. "And just why not? It's not like we were getting anywhere. Hell, even _with _a plan we don't have much hope of emerging victorious. This may be the last chance I get to express my feelings."

"Good God. You're being sentimental."

"But I have a point though, right?" Rapture smirked, eyes twinkling.

Skulduggery frowned at her but didn't answer. Rapture took this as silent, grudging agreement and pressed another kiss to his lips. When he didn't pull away, she hooked one hand round the back of his head. It took a few moments, but eventually Skulduggery responded, hands coming to rest on Rapture's waist.

"I haven't done this for a few centuries," Skulduggery began, pulling away again. "So you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little out of practice."

"Oh, I think I can just about find it in my heart to forgive you." Rapture grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she leant in for another kiss.

–

Rapture was awoken the next morning by a knock at the bedroom door. Reaching for a pack of cigarettes on the bedside table, she sat up, the bed sheet barely covering her naked flesh.

"Come in." She called, lighting up a cigarette and glancing at Skulduggery. He was still very much alive, and fast asleep in the bed next to her. A fond smile curled at Rapture's lips and she chuckled.

The door creaked open and Valkyrie stuck her head through the doorway.

"Hey Rapture, I was just wondering if-" And then she seemed to spot Skulduggery, even if she had no clue as to who he was. Her face went a little red. "Oh, God. Sorry. I should come back later."

Rapture laughed and took a drag from her cigarette. "No no. It's quite alright. What is it you wanted?"

"Um, I, err..." Valkyrie coughed, and then tried again. "I was just wondering if you knew where Skulduggery was. I haven't seen him anywhere this morning."

"Well," Rapture began with a grin, glancing at Skulduggery's discarded suit, which was luckily on the other side of the bed and out of Valkyrie's sight. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

"Ah, alright then. I guess I'll just keep looking."

"Did you find Skulduggery?" Fletcher called from somewhere in the hall, and a few moments later his head appeared in the doorway next to Valkyrie. He blinked at Rapture, looking between her and Skulduggery. Slowly, a sleazy, lopsided grin formed on his face, and he gave Rapture the thumbs up. Valkyrie scowled at him and pushed his head back through the door. "Sorry to have bothered you." She told Rapture, flashing a quick smile before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.

Chuckling again Rapture finished her cigarette, flicking the butt into a nearby ashtray.

"Hm. Now Valkyrie has seen your face, and she doesn't even know it."

Skulduggery cracked an eye open. "Which is all very amusing, when you think about it." He pushed himself into a sitting position and blinked his eyes sleepily.

"How did you sleep?"

"Like the dead."

"Ha ha."

Rapture pressed a quick kiss to his lips, and then leapt out of bed with the intention of searching for her clothes. "You should do the same." She told Skulduggery, turning back to face him once she was fully dressed. "Lest Valkyrie and Fletcher spot a naked skeleton wandering around the house."

"What an absolutely terrifying thought." Skulduggery hummed sarcastically, but started pulling on his clothes all the same.

–

Ten minutes later and the two of them emerged downstairs, Skulduggery once again the living dead.

Rapture glanced sideways at the magical mirror in the hall as she passed, Sarah grinning back at her, those cold crimson eyes twinkling. A dark shape appeared in the reflective glass as Skulduggery walked by, but disappeared just as quickly when he slipped into the living room.

Sarah made a great show of shrugging her shoulders and spreading her arms in a mock-'I don't know' sort of gesture, but the grin on her face remained. Rapture frowned at her, and then followed Skulduggery into the living room.

Valkyrie and Fletcher walked in not long after that, Valkyrie adopting an unimpressed look when she spotted Skulduggery sitting on the sofa. "_There _you are. We've been looking all over."

"I was out on a little stroll." Skulduggery told her cheerfully.

Valkyrie arched a sceptical eyebrow. "A stroll." She repeated.

"Yes. In the forest behind Rapture's house. It really is quite calming and peaceful." Skulduggery cocked his head to the side, observing the way Valkyrie was glaring at him. "You should try it some time." He added, clearly making a point.

Valkyrie picked up a cushion and threw it him.

Fletcher, meanwhile, was looking at Rapture with a smirk on his face. "So who was that guy, your boyfriend?"

Rapture shrugged and grinned. "Just some idiot I know." Skulduggery turned to face her, head still tilted to the side, and Rapture laughed. "But anyway. Something just occurred to me, and it may be able to help us stop my body."

"Really?" Valkyrie asked, surprised, abandoning the next cushion-missile she had just been about to throw at Skulduggery. "That's great!"

"Yes." Skulduggery said slowly. "Yes it is."

Rapture ignored him. "Mm. I have this friend who is something of an expert on all things magical. He might know of a way to deal with our situation."

"And just where can we find this friend of yours?" Skulduggery asked, looking up at Rapture with an expectant air about him.

"Ah. Well. You know how I said a few seconds ago this idea had only _just _occurred to me?" Rapture leant back into the chair she was occupying and crossed her legs. "I may have been lying. Just a little."

"So when _did_ this idea occur to you?" Skulduggery asked, a little exasperated, leaning his jaw on one hand.

"The moment I realized what Stattlich had in that tank."

"Of course it did." Skulduggery muttered, becoming increasingly annoyed. " There was no need to go trawling through all those books. Last night was a complete waste of time."

Rapture raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure the _whole _night was a complete waste of time?"

Skulduggery didn't answer and Rapture smirked, leaving Valkyrie and Fletcher to stare at them both uncomprehendingly. "Anyway." Rapture continued, steering the conversation back to a more sensible place. "I took the liberty of summoning my friend last night, so he should be here in..." She glanced at the clock that was on the fireplace. "Ooh, about five seconds."

And as she said this a deafening roar echoed outside, making the window panes rattle in their frames. The sound of wings buffeting the air, and then a heavy 'ka-thump' as something rather large landed behind Rapture's house, causing the ground to shake.

Skulduggery stared at Rapture for about ten seconds, and then sat up in his seat.

"I literally _cannot _believe you, Rapture. After all this damn time...egg hatched for you...never tell me anything...ridiculous, impossible hedgehog..." He muttered.

And he continued to mutter like this for the next minute or two, Rapture's expression becoming increasingly amused as each second passed. Valkyrie maintained her confused expression, looking between them both while Fletcher ran over to the back window and wrenched the curtains open.

"GAH!" He yelled, falling over backwards. "There's a- a- a...!" He lifted his hand and pointed shakily out the window, mouth agape. Tearing her gaze away from Rapture and Skulduggery, who were now arguing, Valkyrie instead looked over at Fletcher. The idiot was sprawled out on the floor, one hand raised and pointing at-

"EYE!" Valkyrie yelped rather stupidly, pointing just like Fletcher. She would later recall the moment and get all embarrassed, but right now was a little too busy staring out the window and the large slitted eye that peered through it.

"Good morning all." A surprisingly friendly voice boomed, and the slitted eye blinked with a scale-encrusted lid.

Rapture cut off her argument with Skulduggery dead, and instead bounded over to the window with a big grin on her face. "Dobrashin!" She laughed happily, and received a strange purring noise in return. "How are you, my friend?"

"I am well little one. Which is infinitely more, I fear, than can be said about you."

"Yes, about that-" Rapture began, but stopped suddenly. "Hold up. I will _not_ have this conversation through a window. Much less with your eyeball." And she disappeared through the living room door.

Skulduggery grumbled something unsavoury, and then reluctantly got up to follow her.

The giant eye in the window observed Valkyrie and Fletcher, twinkling a bright yellow.

"Perhaps you should join us, younglings?"

"Uhh..."

Fletcher slowly rose to his feet and together with Valkyrie, the two of them continued to stare a little dumbly at the eye.

"You aren't what I think you are..." Valkyrie began eventually, her voice barely a whisper. "Are you?"

A loud, deep laugh, and the eye twinkled with amusement. "I could answer you..." Another laugh that seemed to make Valkyrie's very soul rattle around inside her body. "But where would be the fun in that?"

Slowly, a grin seemed to light up Valkyrie's face, and she dashed after Rapture and Skulduggery. Walking backwards, never taking his eyes off the window, Fletcher followed.

–

The first thing Valkyrie registered as she exited Rapture's house via the back door was the large, scaly tree-trunk the black-haired sorcerer appeared to be hugging. Upon looking up, however, she discovered that it wasn't a tree-trunk at all, but a leg.

"Woah."

There, towering over them all, was a very large dragon indeed.

It had scales a deep shade of purple, curved black horns jutting from its triangular head and a row of lethal looking spines that trailed the length of its back. They continued on almost all the way to the tip of its tail, which was armed with a strange looking blade bigger than Valkyrie herself. Massive leathery wings were tucked away at its sides and it observed them all with those yellow, orb-like eyes. "Greetings. I am Dobrashin." The dragon introduced himself, lowering his head to better see them all. "And I am, to my knowledge, the last dragon in existence."

"This is...you..."Valkyrie stuttered, mouth agape. But she soon composed herself and resumed the grin. "You are by far the most _awesome_ thing I have ever seen."

Not even Skulduggery, who was staring silently up at Dobrashin, could argue.

Dobrashin hummed a laugh, which sounded more like alarmingly close thunder than anything else. "I appreciate that, little one."

Rapture detached herself from the great dragon's leg and turned to face them all.  
"So now that Dobrashin has introduced himself, allow me to introduce _you._" She walked forwards a few paces and then turned around, craning her neck right back to better see him. "Dobrashin, meet Detective Skulduggery Pleasant, my _dear _old friend." Rapture smirked, gesturing to Skulduggery.

Dobrashin leaned in a little closer so his snout was mere inches from Skulduggery's head and the others were cast in a massive shadow, receiving a nice view of his armour-plated chest if they happened to glance up. "Rapture has told me all about you, skeleton man."

"I bet she has." Skulduggery commented mildly, and Dobrashin laughed again.

"It is nice to finally meet, face to face." He breathed out through his slitted nostrils, sending a gust of air right into Skulduggery's skull, knocking off his hat. Valkyrie and Rapture both had a good laugh, while Fletcher simply continued to stare up at the giant reptile with wide eyes, mouth agape.

"Yes, well. Thank you for that. My sinuses needed a good clearout." Skulduggery bent down to pick up his hat and perched it back on top of his head.

Dobrashin then moved on to Valkyrie, who stopped laughing immediately and instead found herself focusing on the dragon's giant teeth. Each one was easily as big as her leg.

"This is Valkyrie Cain, Skulduggery's new Detective partner." Rapture introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you, little Valkyrie."

"Uh, hi." Valkyrie said slowly, and then smiled. "Hey, this is going to sound like a really weird question, but..." She hesitantly raised a hand. "Can I touch you?"

Dobrashin lowered his head a little further so Valkyrie could better reach him, and she tentatively placed a hand upon his snout. His glistening scales were smooth and cold to the touch, and Valkyrie was willing to bet they were tougher than even diamonds.

"Wow." She breathed, smile widening into a grin once again. "Thanks."

Another thundering laugh from Dobrashin, and Valkyrie had to resist the urge to cover her ears."You are most welcome."

Rapture finally moved on to Fletcher, who looked just about ready to wet himself.

"And this is Fletcher Renn, the last teleporter." Rapture hummed. "I guess that's one thing you have in common; both the last of your kind. Perhaps it'll be easier to bond now?"

"I-uh...yeah-um...ah." Fletcher stuttered as Dobrashin experimentally sniffed at his hair.

"Hmm. This one has rather funny looking fur, does he not?"

Valkyrie wrapped her arms around her stomach as she shook with laughter. Rapture had to prop her up with an arm before she fell over. Even Skulduggery made a sound much like a chuckle. Fletcher scowled, momentarily forgetting his fear. "Great. Even the dragon is making fun of my hair."

"Well, now that the introductions have been taken care of," Rapture intervened, albeit with a grin on her face. "Perhaps we should get down to business."

"Ah yes. You sounded rather urgent last night when you summoned me." Dobrashin stated, moving backwards a few paces and sitting on his haunches. "And you never summon me unless the situation is absolutely dire."

"And it is at that." Rapture agreed, nodding. "A man named Baron Stattlich managed to get his hands on my original body. That wouldn't have been too much of a problem, had he not introduced some of my blood to it."

Dobrashin hummed thoughtfully. "And now it is pursuing you with the intention of becoming whole?" Another nod from Rapture, and Dobrashin snorted a cloud of black smoke. "You were right. The situation is indeed dire." He tilted his head slightly and began to hum again, deep in thought. "You need to break the magical connection between yourself and the body." He said eventually. "But only extremely powerful magical artefacts have the potential to do so. An example of this would be the Sceptre of the Ancients."

Skulduggery shook his head. "Impossible. The Sceptre was destroyed."

Rapture stared at the ground for a few moments, and then looked up at Dobrashin. "Would the hammer of Thor work?"

"Mjolnir? I believe so, yes." Dobrashin stated, bobbing his head. "You know of its location?"

Rapture adopted a slightly guilty expression. " I never told you about that case, did I?"

"There is a lot you have not told me, but I do not resent you for it. You sent me away to protect me, and for that I am eternally grateful."

"Well," Rapture started, smiling warmly. "It should still be sealed away in some catacombs about fifty miles from here. The Lightning-Blade is needed to open it." She pulled the familiar hilt from her weapon belt and twirled it through the air. "But luckily." A grin. "We already have that."

"Excellent." Dobrashin purred.

Rapture turned to look at Skulduggery. "We don't have time to retrieve the tome. Do you remember the method for opening the door?"

Skulduggery took a few moments to recall on that particular memory, and then nodded.

"Yes, I remember it well enough."

"And Fletcher," Rapture continued, glancing at the teleporter. "I don't suppose you've been to the ruins by Quetzalcoatl Creek before, have you?" Fletcher shook his head slowly and Rapture sighed. "Didn't think so. That means teleporting is out of the question."

Dobrashin spread out across the ground, lowering himself as much as possible, tail knocking over a line of trees. "Then climb aboard, little ones. We shall fly there."

–

After the initial shock of darting through the air on the back of a giant winged reptile at a hundred miles an hour, Valkyrie absolutely loved flying with Dobrashin. She sat in her spot between two of the dragon's spines, laughing happily as clouds and landscapes whipped on by. Rapture herself was sat cross-legged on his head, right between the horns, somehow managing to remain upright without even holding onto anything.

Fletcher looked a little green and was clinging on for dear life in the space behind Valkyrie, while Skulduggery had a hard time keeping the hat on his head.

It took just under half an hour to reach the ruins at Quetzalcoatl Creek, and Dobrashin touched down right next to the collapsed church.

"Right." Rapture exclaimed, hopping from his head and landing on the grass below with barely any impact at all. "Now we just need to find another way in." She glanced at the mess before her, head tilted to one side. "Unless..." A wide smile. "Dobrashin?"

Bobbing his head in agreement, Dobrashin backed up several paces, allowed the other three to get down from his back, and then went barrelling straight into the mass of debris.

Large chunks of stone went flying every which way, making dents in the grass-covered earth.

Valkyrie and Fletcher coughed as dust went spiralling into the air, but it eventually cleared to reveal a large space of bare floor. Rapture strolled over, crouching down next to one particular slab and pressing a finger into the small circular hole that resided there. A 'click' and the slab slid back, revealing the chute beneath.

Rapture grinned at Skulduggery, eyes twinkling with amusement. "Ladies first~."

"Age before beauty." Skulduggery countered happily, and Rapture stuck her tongue out at him. But when no-one made a move towards the chute, Skulduggery sighed. "Fine." And he jumped in, using the air to slow his descent.

Rapture snorted and Valkyrie glanced at her. "It's perfectly alright." She assured, laughing. "Skulduggery and I have done this before."

"That's what worries me.." Fletcher muttered, but Valkyrie ignored him. She flashed Rapture a quick grin and then jumped into the chute feet first.

Noticing the reluctance on Fletcher's face, Rapture smiled, a twinkle in her eyes. "You can remain here if you wish. I'm sure Dobrashin could use the company."

Fletcher's eyes widened considerably. "Oh. No. That's OK. I'll be fine." He jumped into the chute and Rapture laughed.

"I guess we'll see you in a little while, old friend."

Dobrashin lowered his head, snout brushing Rapture's forehead. "Be careful, little one."

"You know me." Rapture grinned, walking over to the chute. "I'm always careful." And she disappeared inside.

–

Once Fletcher had finished freaking out over all the skulls on the wall, the four of them made their way to the Mjolnir chamber. Having been there before, it didn't take Skulduggery and Rapture much effort to find it again. "Now, about the door.." Rapture mused, tapping her chin with a finger once they had all emerged into the triangular chamber. Skulduggery took this as his cue and walked over to the massive door at the far end. After pressing, slotting, sliding and twisting a dozen moveable parts on the door, he finally turned back to face the others. "There." He declared in a satisfied tone. "That should do it."

Humming happily, Rapture pulled the Lightning-Blade from her belt and made her way over to the raised pedestal. Everyone watched as she slid the hilt into its slot, but nothing appeared to happen.

"Are you sure you got it right, Skulduggery?" Valkyrie asked, turning her gaze on the skeleton detective.

"Of course I am." Skulduggery huffed. "Maybe Rapture didn't put it in right."

"Oh, I'm sure that's it." Rapture rolled her eyes. "Because everything is always _my _fault."

"Well it usually is."

"Shut the hell up, you giant toothpick."

"No, _you_ shut up. You schizophrenic snake."

"Xylophone!"

"Hedgehog!"

Ignoring this ridiculous argument, Valkyrie made her way over to the pedestal and pressed the button in the Lightning-Blade pommel. The groove in the floor leading away from it lit up a brilliant blue, travelling all the way to the door, quickly surrounding the huge stone frame.

Little branches of the same blue light travelled along smaller grooves, encircling the carving of Mjolnir at the centre. Rapture and Skulduggery ceased their argument immediately and turned to stare at the glowing door.

"You two over think things." Valkyrie told them, smirking a little. "Sometimes a simple solution is all that's needed." The two of them stared at her, and Fletcher looked extremely impressed.

"Well done Valkyrie. Just like I taught you." Skulduggery said happily, and Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"You are wise beyond your years, Miss. Cain." Rapture chuckled.

She grinned. "I know."

That's when the light from the door seemed to get a little brighter, causing Valkyrie and Fletcher to shield their eyes. Rapture and Skulduggery appeared unfazed by this and stared straight into the heart of the light, which was all the while becoming increasingly brighter as the door groaned and shuddered.

The light suddenly ceased, and Valkyrie blinked her eyes wide to see the door now fully open. There was a stone pedestal beyond, much like the one in the chamber they were currently occupying, and a strange looking hammer resided at the centre, precariously balanced on one corner of its square-ish body.

Rapture wasted no time in dashing through the door, running up the half dozen steps that led to the pedestal. Fingers flexing, she slowly reached out for Mjolnir's handle. When nothing happened, she gripped it a little tighter, pulling the awkward hammer from its resting place.

It was a lot lighter than it looked. "Huh. That was easy." Rapture commented mildly.

That's when the door to the Mjolnir chamber exploded inwards, chunks of stone flying everywhere.

Everyone simultaneously turned their gaze on the collapsed entrance, and what they saw was not good; Rapture's body stood in front of the mess, glassy eyes staring straight through them.

"Time to go!" Rapture declared, running for Fletcher, Mjolnir still in hand.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie did the same, all of them reaching the teleporter just as Rapture's body took a step forwards.

Valkyrie blinked and was suddenly back above ground, the collapsed church ruins off to her left and Dobrashin to her right. Rapture, Skulduggery and Fletcher all stood behind her.

"The body. I sense it nearby." Dobrashin rumbled, crouching down like a cat ready to pounce. "You have the hammer?"

Rapture hefted the square hammer into the air for Dobrashin to better see. "Right here."

"Excellent. One good swing should do it. And remember, it commands the skies. Use that to your-" He was cut off when the ground beneath the church ruins exploded, sending the remaining debris flying towards them. Dobrashin twisted, swinging his massive tail into the heavy projectiles, saving everyone from being crushed into dust.

Rapture's body emerged from the gaping hole in the ground, and Dobrashin gave an ear-splitting roar. A deep rumbling sounded in his stomach, and then seemed to travel upwards.

Valkyrie had to turn away as a stream of intensely hot fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, engulfing the pale figure completely.

"Shit!" Rapture swore, and Valkyrie turned to see her empty body flying towards them, completely unharmed. "Everyone get down!"

Valkyrie didn't need to be told twice, and neither did Skulduggery or Fletcher. They all hit the dirt just as Rapture braced herself, swinging Mjolnir round to meet the empty body.

But it disappeared at the very last second, causing Rapture to lose her footing and fall to the floor, the hammer making a small crater where it landed.

A flash of white and Valkyrie watched as Rapture went flying backwards through the air, Mjolnir still in the crater. "Skulduggery!" She yelled, and the skeleton detective leapt to his feet, one hand already wielding a fireball, the other his gun.

Skulduggery concentrated his fire to the back of the empty body's head, knocking it back several paces. It slowly turned to face him and he threw the fireball next.

Dobrashin added his own attack, swiping one massive paw into the pale figure, sending it flying into a large boulder. The boulder split down the middle, but the body emerged once again unharmed.

Face determined, although a hint of fear trickled into his eyes, Fletcher teleported right next to it, one hand coming up to grip it by the arm. He tried to teleport away again, but the most that happened was a slight flickering, as if the body were simply refusing to move.

Blinking his surprise, Fletcher barely had time to teleport before it lashed out an arm at him.

He reappeared next to Valkyrie, who was using the Necromancer ring on her finger to draw back a fist full of shadows. The body made for them, and she brought that fist slamming straight into its chest.

And so it went like this; Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Dobrashin and Fletcher all trying the best they could to hold off Rapture's body, while Rapture herself recovered and made for the hammer.

It was just starting to go their way when a familiar voice sounded from beside the church ruins.

"Still fighting the good fight? It won't matter, you know. In the end."

Rapture turned to see Baron Stattlich observing the scene before him with shining silver eyes, two fully grown Demon-Hounds flanking him like fluffy bodyguards. Groaning, Rapture slid her fingers round Mjolnir's handle and lifted it into the air. Thunder sounded overhead, there was a loud 'crack', and lightning struck the spot just behind Stattlich, causing the Demon-Hounds to yelp and bolt for the trees .

Completely unfazed, Stattlich raised an eyebrow. "Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor. I am impressed." A slight chuckle here. "But it makes no difference."

Rapture turned back to see her body with the upper hand. Skulduggery was lying in a heap on the ground, Valkyrie was clutching at an injured arm, Fletcher constantly teleported from one spot to another looking panicked and Dobrashin was minus a horn, his face clawed and bloody.

A flash of concern in Rapture's eyes caused them to momentarily widen, but she soon managed to compose herself. Still a little wobbly, she pushed herself into a standing position, Mjolnir in one hand. "Dobrashin." She said, her tone low and serious. The dragon slowly lifted his head to look at her, and she continued; "Get out of here."

"I do not wish to leave you, little one. You are my human and I must prot-"

"Go." Rapture insisted.

Dobrashin seemed to sigh, but with no choice in the matter he kicked off from the ground, great wings buffeting them all with a gust of wind. Rapture watched him go, guilt in her eyes. But she shook the feeling away just as quickly. At least he was safe now.

Having had much the same idea, Skulduggery slowly sat up. "Fletcher. Take Valkyrie away from here." He turned to look at the teleporter. "It's too dangerous."

Nodding, Fletcher teleported next to Valkyrie, who's eyes widened in protest. "No! You can't-"

And then they were both gone, leaving just Rapture and Skulduggery to face Stattlich and the empty body alone.

"I hold some of your power, My Lady." Stattlich drawled. "Just a single drop of blood from zat wonderful body," he gestured at the pale figure, which had its head tilted to one side as it silently observed. "And I have magic more potent than most. You cannot hope to beat me as you are."

"You mixed my blood with your own." Rapture barked a laugh. "Are you an idiot? That sort of power will kill you."

Stattlich tapped his gas-mask. "This keeps me alive. As long as I am wearing it, I will live on."

"Oh yeah?" Rapture readied herself for an attack. "Then let me see what I can do about that." She launched herself at the Baron, Mjolnir raised once again above her head. The crackle of lightning overhead, which then zipped straight down to hit the hammer. Using it much like a lightning rod, Rapture directed the energy with Mjolnir, sending it hurtling towards Stattlich.

He waited until the very last second before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke, amused laughter echoing behind him. "Why do you persist, My Lady?" The Baron's disembodied voice sounded. "Why do you turn down such glorious power?"

"Why do you worship the empty body of a crazed vampire as your God?" Rapture countered, eyes darting around, trying to find the source of his voice. Stattlich reappeared, frowning. A smirk tugged at Rapture's lips. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said by way of a mock-apology. "Did I run over your dogma?"

When Stattlich didn't answer, her smirk turned into a grin. "I really hope you're not allergic to nuts. Because I'm going to kick yours up into your throat." And she lunged for him again.

While all this went on, Skulduggery tried to keep Rapture's empty body at bay. It was considerably harder now he was the only one doing so. No matter how many bullets he fired or how many fireballs he hurled, it always seemed to get back up. Inevitably it managed to overpower him.

"Oh Rapture!" Skulduggery called as the body curled its fingers around his throat and hoisted him into the air. "A little help, please?"

"I'm busy!" Rapture snapped, swinging Mjolnir through the space that Stattlich had just been standing in. And then Skulduggery started screaming. Rapture whipped round to face him, eyes finding her body, which was pulling on each of Skulduggery's ribs in turn until they broke. Its sightless gaze seemed to intensify and Rapture saw the consciousness all around Skulduggery starting to come apart.

"No!" She yelled, and then something odd happened.

The light around Skulduggery suddenly came together again, and his head lolled back, giving Rapture the impression he had blacked out. A wave of darkness erupted from his chest, sending the empty body flying back into a tree. That very same darkness seemed to then consume his body, wrapping around his limbs and torso like some sort of living armour. The moment his head was covered by darkness, it snapped back to attention.

Slowly, Lord Vile turned to face Rapture, and she swore.

–

"You bastard!" Rapture yelled, throwing Mjolnir straight at Lord Vile. He shadow-walked a couple of paces to the left, avoiding the hammer completely. It turned and went flying back into Rapture's outstretched hand. "I knew there was something weird about you. I had my suspicions before...I saw your reflection in the mirror... but I didn't want to accept it." She scoffed. "And you had the _nerve_ to condemn _me_ for...!" She went to throw Mjolnir a second time but stopped suddenly. Slowly, a slightly demented grin spread across her face. "I guess we have more in common than I thought."

Lord Vile made a dash for Rapture, shadows erupting all around him in the form of razor-shape points. She ducked and rolled out of the way, just as one of these shadow-spears penetrated the air where she had been standing. Turning back to look, Rapture saw Baron Stattlich directly in front of Lord Vile, several spears piercing his body. Hissing in pain, Stattlich lashed out an arm, sending the Necromancer flying back with a rippling blast of energy.

Rapture would have joined in, but it was at that point her body decided to make a reappearance. Throwing the tree it had crashed into aside, the pale figure made a dash for Rapture, one hand reaching out.

"Oh, you wanna go~?" Rapture purred dangerously, eyes glinting as she brought Mjolnir back to strike. Her body knocked the hammer aside by its handle, sending Rapture spinning once again. Having learnt her lesson from the previous time, she stuck out one hand to push herself up from the ground, spinning a kick right into the head of her body. It skidded back, long hair billowing out in front.

"You're mine!"

And Rapture burst through the forest of ebony hair, Mjolnir coming up to swing into her body's sternum. The impact sent them both flying back in opposite directions, Rapture crashing into some debris from the ruins, her body making a long gash in the ground.

It recovered quickly, standing upright with ease. Groaning, Rapture pushed herself into a standing position, getting ready for another brawl with her body. But its glassy eyes passed straight over her, instead focusing on Baron Stattlich, who was locked in an intense battle with Lord Vile.

"Of course." Rapture mumbled, swaying slightly on the spot. "He infused some of his blood with its own. After breaking the connection..." Her face lit up with a grin. "It'll focus on him."

It was then Stattlich seemed to realise what was happening. Eyes widening, he made a dash for it, Lord Vile bringing up a wave of shadows to follow. With the empty body pursuing him as well as Skulduggery's evil counterpart, Stattlich didn't get very far. The wave of darkness came crashing down, pinning him to the floor. Several bones broke, and he shrieked as Rapture's body made its way over. Pointing casually, head tilted to one side, it exploded the Baron's heart inside his chest.

Its cloudy eyes fluttering closed, Rapture's body then collapsed to the floor, unmoving.

Rapture almost relaxed. Almost.

And then she seemed to remember Lord Vile. "Oh, hell." A roll of the eyes as she hefted Mjolnir from one hand to the other. "Well? Bring it!"

Vile slashed at Rapture with a wicked-sharp blade of shadows, Rapture barely managing to dodge in time. A lopsided, malicious grin tugged at her lips as she ran straight for him, head ducked low. At the very last second she leapt into the air, both hands bringing Mjolnir straight down on his head. The pair of them went tumbling to the ground, Lord Vile's armour receding back into Skulduggery's ribcage as they went.

Groaning, Skulduggery looked up to see a semi-conscious Rapture lying on top of him.

"Do I even want to know what happened?" He asked mildly.

Rapture brought up a fist to punch him lightly in the side of the head. "Ha ha." A pause.

"Hey...don't you remember?"

"Obviously not."

**Huh. Well I guess a whack on the head from Thor's hammer will do that to just about anyone... **Rapture thought, eyebrow arched. **I wonder if that was enough to get rid of Lord Vile for good? Because God knows we don't need any more homicidal, super-charged alter egos running around. **

A faint smile.

"Well, we won." She muttered aloud weakly, and then collapsed.

–

Several hours later saw a squad of Cleavers carefully lifting Rapture's empty body into a glass container, before storing it away in a large van. A couple of sorcerers from the Sanctuary oversaw the whole thing while Rapture and Skulduggery sat a fair distance away, recovering. A trip to Kenspeckle would be necessary for Skulduggery, but Rapture's injuries had already healed.

"So what now?" She asked mildly, a cigarette clamped firmly between her lips.

"Things go back to the way they were."

"Don't pretend you've forgotten how I'm dying, Skulduggery."

"Who's dying?" Valkyrie asked, strolling over with Fletcher.

Rapture waved a casual hand. "No-one, no-one." A grin. "Everything turned out alright for once, eh?"

Valkyrie smiled at her, and then seemed to remember that Skulduggery was sitting nearby. She scowled. "I'm still not happy with you."

"What, for saving your life?"

"For sending me away like that!" Valkyrie huffed and crossed her arms. "I could have helped."

"Seriously, Val." Fletcher intervened. "Look at them both." He gestured to Skulduggery's broken ribs, and the blood that coated Rapture. "_They_ barely made it out alive. You might have died if you stayed."

Valkyrie grumbled, but she knew he was right. "Yeah, but still..."

Chuckling, Rapture got to her feet. "Perhaps we should all pay ol' Kenspeckle a visit?"

Skulduggery sat up a little straighter. "Not you, Rapture. _We'll _see Kenspeckle. _You _need to go home." Rapture arched an eyebrow and Skulduggery added; "You've already caused enough trouble as it is."

"Hey, that's not fai-" Valkyrie began, but Rapture silenced her with a raised hand.

"It's fine, Valkyrie. He's right."

"Of course I am." Skulduggery agreed, nodding. "Now stay out of trouble, or I'll be knocking at your door."

Grinning around her cigarette, Rapture swept her hand aside and gave a deep bow. "Yes, My Lord~." She disappeared from sight before any of them could speak.

"I don't get it." Valkyrie muttered blankly, and Skulduggery cocked his head to the side.

–

Two more hours passed, and with Valkyrie helping to prop him up, Skulduggery made his way back over to the battle site, Fletcher following behind.

Immediately they sensed that something was wrong. A Cleaver lay dead by the van and one of the sorcerers sat in a daze next to it. "What happened?" Skulduggery barked, hobbling over, one hand wrapped around his sternum.

"Th-that man." The sorcerer muttered, blinking. " We thought he was dead...!" He pointed at the spot where Baron Stattlich had fallen, but it was now empty.

Skulduggery stared at the floor for a moment. "Stattlich must have somehow recreated Rapture's regenerative abilities..." He muttered

"The hammer is gone too!" Another sorcerer yelled from somewhere by the ruins, and they all turned to look. A small crater lay at her feet, but Mjolnir was nowhere to be seen.

"Fletcher!" Skulduggery snapped, and Fletcher turned to face him, looking a little startled. "Rapture's house. Now!"

"R-right!" All three of them made contact and were gone in the blink of an eye.


	14. The Skeleton Detective's Rage

The seriousness of the situation was apparent as soon as the trio arrived at the house. The front door hung from one hinge and all of the windows were smashed in. Scorch marks decorated the lawn, and several of Rapture's beloved snakes lay dead. A crash from within the house and Skulduggery walked over, Valkyrie and Fletcher trailing behind. "Rapture!" He shouted upon reaching the door, but it was Baron Stattlich who stumbled into view.

"You are too late, detective." A grin from the Baron, whose mask had been knocked from his jaw. His skin was sickly pale, a slightly glassy film covering his eyes. "She will be whole once again and I shall die in peace, knowing zat My Lady will grant a second life to her faithful follower."

"Don't count on it." Skulduggery muttered, splaying his palm wide. Stattlich went hurtling back, crashing straight through the kitchen door, and Skulduggery looked around.

"Rapture! Where are you?"

A gurgling cough from upstairs. "H-here...!"

Skulduggery started to climb the stairs, one arm still wrapped around his sternum. When Valkyrie made to help, he batted her hand away. "I'm fine."

Rapture's library-cum-armoury was in ruins, books torn and pages scattered, weapon racks smashed up and weapons cracked or splintered. A ridiculous amount of blood decorated one wall, and Rapture lay on the floor before it. Her chest was a bloody mess, several ribs clearly broken and sticking through the skin. Upon seeing Skulduggery emerge at the top of the stairs, Rapture smiled weakly, holding out one shaky hand to him. "You took your time." She wheezed, coughing blood all over herself.

"Quiet, Rapture." Skulduggery chided "You'll be fine in a minute."

"Huh...this seems kinda familiar." Another cough from Rapture and a blood-stained grin. "Now I tell you what a terrible liar you are, and then you start babbling nonsense to keep my mind off it."

Valkyrie reached the top of the stairs and immediately her eyes widened.

"Rapture!" She ran over and dropped down next to the black-haired sorcerer, blood soaking into her trousers. "She's not healing! Shouldn't she be healing?" She asked Skulduggery rather frantically, hands hovering over Rapture's wound, not knowing what to do.

"I don't understand..." Skulduggery muttered.

And then he seemed to notice Mjolnir, which was half-buried in a pile of blood coated books. "Valkyrie." He said in a low, urgent voice and Valkyrie snapped her head up, eyes wide. "I need you to go into the kitchen and retrieve the first aid kit. It's in one of the cupboards."

Valkyrie nodded a little shakily and got up, dashing for the stairs.

"Fletcher, you go with her." Skulduggery ordered. "And if Stattlich misbehaves, drop him from a very, _very _tall building."

"You got it." Fletcher agreed, tearing his eyes away from the pool of blood that Rapture was lying in and following after Valkyrie.

Holding onto the banister for support, Skulduggery made his way over to the far end of the room.

Rapture was pawing at her coat pocket, trying to retrieve something in particular, but each movement seemed to cause her a great deal of pain. "Hey, would you mind?" She gurgled a laugh, wincing slightly.

Skulduggery dropped down next to her heavily, the hand that wasn't clutching at his broken ribs making for Rapture's coat pocket. He reached inside and pulled out a slightly bloody packet of cigarettes. Flipping the lid open, he held the packet out to her.

"Ah, Thanks." Rapture grinned, slipping a cancer stick from the card and balancing it between her lips. Skulduggery dropped the packet and clicked his fingers, sparking a flame. Rapture lit her cigarette on the gently flickering fire.

"Mm. Much better~." She hummed weakly, taking a long drag and breathing the smoke from her nostrils. Eyes twinkling, she glanced over at Skulduggery, who still hadn't said a word. "Did you beat up Stattlich?"

Skulduggery nodded once and Rapture's grin widened. "Well, before you kill him, tell that Nazi bastard he can kiss my all-powerful Auschwitz. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that me, or the other one, is giving him a second life." A pause when Skulduggery didn't answer. "...You know I'm going to die, right? I guess that's why you sent Valkyrie and Fletcher downstairs, out of the way." Another puff on the cigarette and a slight shrug. "Mjolnir was powerful enough to sever my connection with this body. All that's left is for it to die." Rapture spluttered a laugh. "It's ironic. After surviving everything that I did...only to die here, in the security of my own damn home. Ha ha."

Skulduggery extinguished the flame in his hand and placed that hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine." He said quietly.

"You know, you really are a terrible liar." Rapture grinned, clutching his hand with one of her own, gazing up at him with intense emerald eyes.

"Got it!" Valkyrie declared, reappearing at the top of the stairs with the medi-kit just as Rapture's hand slipped to the floor, her eyes becoming dull and the cigarette going limp between her lips.

She died with a smile on her face.

Skulduggery gently removed the hand from his broken ribs and placed it over Rapture's own. "I know." He whispered, head dipped.

–

"I've got the..." Valkyrie muttered, shuffling over to Skulduggery and Rapture, noticing her glassy, sightless gaze for the first time. "Is she...?" She placed the medi-kit on the broken desk, her eyes tearing up. Fletcher arrived a moment later, spotted Valkyrie crying and ran over.

"What is it? What-" And then he seemed to notice how still Rapture was. "...Oh."

Valkyrie turned to face him, started sobbing into his chest, and Fletcher wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. "It's OK. I'm here. I've got you." He muttered in a soothing manner, rubbing her back.

Skulduggery still clutched at Rapture's lifeless hand, his grip becoming tighter with each second that passed. After a few minutes he jumped to his feet and, saying not a word, tore down the stairs.

Upon reaching the kitchen he found Stattlich lying in a heap, his face broken and bloody, but still grinning. "I take it, from the murderous aura emanating from you, zat our mutual friend did not survive?"

Remaining silent, Skulduggery strode over to him, both hands coming up to grip Stattlich by the front of his uniform. "Worry not!" The ex-Nazi laughed a little psychotically. "She will ascend, and become something more powerful than God himself!"

When Skulduggery still didn't answer, Stattlich tilted his head to the side.

"Ah. I see. You are worried zat _your _Sarah will not emerge as the dominant personality." Another crazed chuckle and a shrug. "She was weak-minded anyway, I see zat now. Not worthy of such power."

Skulduggery moved one hand to his throat, squeezing tightly. "Her _name_ is Rapture." He told Stattlich, voice devoid of any emotion. "And I'm sending you to hell on her behalf."

The Baron choked out a laugh. "But My Lady will grant me a second life for serving her all these years! Killing me now means nothing."

"Oh, but it does." Skulduggery whispered darkly, grip tightening. "Because I have complete faith in Rapture. She's stronger than you think." A pause. "And I wonder...have you even met the other one? Because she doesn't exactly strike me as the type to dish out favours to _anyone,_ much less a snivelling worm like you."

The conviction in Skulduggery's voice made Stattlich a little nervous. He stared up at the skeleton detective, seriously regretting some of his life choices as the grip around his throat tightened.

"Wait-!" He choked, eyes wide as the life was strangled from him by those cold, bony fingers. But Skulduggery's grip inched ever tighter, and with one final and sudden movement, he snapped the Baron's neck.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A couple of weeks had passed since the incident with Rapture, and although the mood was sombre, Skulduggery and Valkyrie soldiered on as always.

One particular evening at Skulduggery's house and Valkyrie was fast asleep on the couch. Rain beat down on the windows outside, storm clouds hanging swollen in the sky.

Skulduggery sat at the table with a wad of old letters open before him, all addressed to Sarah, as Rapture had been known twenty years previously, all signed by him. He drummed his skeletal fingers on the tabletop, chin leant against his free hand, deep in thought. Reminiscing, perhaps.

And then came a loud knocking at the front door.

Head tilted to one side as he wondered who could possibly be knocking at such ungodly hours, Skulduggery rose to his feet. Upon answering the door he discovered no-one, and was about to close it once again when something caught his attention. An object on the doorstep, about the length of his forearm. Bending down to scoop it up, Skulduggery discovered this object was in fact the Lightning-Blade, and stuck to it was a post-it note. A little cartoon hedgehog playing a xylophone was doodled in pen on the small, yellow square of paper, a mischievous grin on its face. Fittingly lightning flashed overhead, Skulduggery's skull showing up brilliantly. "See? I'm always right." He muttered to no-one in particular, throwing the Lightning-Blade from one hand to the other.

And, with a hum and a skeleton grin, he straightened back up, closing the door behind him.

**The end?**

* * *

**( Just gonna go ahead and answer a question I was asked by a guest user in a review ( a message I'm unable to reply to.) They asked me how Val saw two shadowy reflections in the mirror (Chapter Two - Seeking Help) - How can she have two? - Well, the answer is; she doesn't have two. Skulduggery was standing beside her in the hall, so the other one belongs to him. Hope that helps if you happen to read this, anonymous reviewer C: )**

**Well, that's it~ Hope you enjoyed my fanfiction C: I _have_ started a sequel, but it's a bit slow-going at the moment, so don't hold your breath XD  
**

**Thanks for reading~!  
**


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